


Indulgence - Part 3

by thalaivi



Series: Indulgence [3]
Category: CSI: Miami, Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:41:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 16
Words: 41,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26563030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thalaivi/pseuds/thalaivi
Summary: To be able to forget means sanity.Eric and Speed are engaged but will Eric's demons let him lead a happy life. And what of Horatio's secret
Relationships: Eric Delko/Tim Speedle, Horatio Caine/Calleigh Duquesne, Horatio Caine/Marisol Delko-Caine, Ryan Wolfe/ OFC
Series: Indulgence [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1627192





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know I've taken this down a couple of times but I wanted the chapters to be properly aligned

“It’s not changed since the last time doc. I still don’t remember anything that happened”. Eric sounded frustrated more than angry, as he sat in the mandatory psych eval session that Ric had imposed on him; again. That Dr. Marsh had been the one to turn that one session into this third one didn’t make him feel any less annoyed with the IAB sergeant

“Ok”, Rachel Marsh said as she watched Eric become agitated again. She had to admit he had been calm the rest of the time, and she honestly didn’t see his recent experiences giving him a problem at work, but still, he hadn’t objected either when she had asked him to come back. Oh, she had heard the token protest every cop gave her, he was fine, he didn’t need to bare his heart out, he had family.

In Eric’s case the last one really was true. Unlike some of the other unfortunate souls she had seen in here, he really did have a strong support system he could actually depend on. So, if after all of that he was here… “But something about that experience is still bothering you”

Finally, she thought as she watched him squirm. 

“I… I don’t remember anything”. This time his voice was soft, like he was a million miles away

“Trauma sometimes removes memories Eric. You know that”

“I do know that”. His frustration had come back full force. “Sorry”, he apologized, when he realised he’d been yelling.

She didn’t bother telling him it was fine. She chose to wait him out instead. The squirming was back, and his hands began drumming a beat. She really hoped he’d never want to become a poker player. He simply had too many tells. 

“And if I wanted to remember?”, he asked her at last

“Can I ask why?” Normally she wouldn’t bother with direct questions. She usually let her patients work out what was bothering them themselves helping out with a clinical diagnosis only when they actually needed it. In Eric’s case he didn’t need it or even want it

“I just do”. He was evading but she already knew of course. He had told her about his brother-in-law going to prison and of being almost sexually assaulted a few years back. She sat back and thought about what she could tell him. 

Eric Delko, she knew wasn’t just a police officer, he was also a CSI. And though he might not know much about the human body and the brain, she had a feeling he could do his own research just fine. So, if she dismissed his concerns outright – not that she actually would – or told him it was impossible to recover those memories, he was going to find out if she was right. And unfortunately for him, there were too many quacks out there who could not just take his money, but actually end up hurting him. She considered her options

“Ok”, she said and for the first time in the last three sessions he became interested 

“You mean I actually can”

“Not so fast”, she told him with a smile and his shoulders slumped again. “Hey, I’m not saying it’s impossible. But I am also saying it’s not easy. You need to talk this out with your family and your boyfriend Eric”

“Fiancé”, he mumbled not even sure why he was telling her when he hadn’t told the rest of the team or his parents yet

“I guess congratulations are in order”

“Thanks doc”

“Talk to them Eric. Talk to your parents, Officer Speedle and your uncle and think about whether you really want this. And if you decide the answer’s still yes, then come back and see me”, she ordered waiting for him to object again

To her surprise he chuckled. “I see. So, this is your plan huh doc. To keep me coming back here”

She rolled her eyes and didn’t bother responding to that one. But she also hoped he’d keep his sense of humour always. It would help him when he did what she actually knew he was going to do

“No”

“I really hate you sometimes”

“And the rest of the times?”

“Damn it, Speed”, Eric mumbled as Speed tried to distract whatever hairbrained scheme his boyfriend – no fiancé he decided with a smile – had hatched this time by keeping up the kisses. 

“No”, he whispered again, as he tried to direct Eric to their bedroom, but Eric for once pulled back

“I went to see Dr. Marsh today”. 

Speed froze. Eric never talked about his sessions

“And she told me there might be a way to get my memories back”

Speed froze again. They had been through this before and he resisted the urge to tell Eric that… “It is my fault Tim”

“Eric…”

“Look I want this”, Eric whispered as he pulled away. “Does the why matter so much?”

“Have you actually considered that Manny might have used GHB or some other substance to make you forget and…” Eric actually flinched, and Speed sighed. “Babe you can’t even hear his name and…”

“Shut up”, the Cuban snarled and flinched again as Speed tried to get closer to him

“It happens to be true Eric”, he continued trying to make the younger man see reason. “Your mind chose to erase those memories to protect you and now you wanna try and recover them. Why? Babe, no one blames you. Not even Jack or Isabella”

“Will you help me or not?”

Speed sighed again. “I’m sorry babe, but I can’t. I can’t watch you hurt yourself. Not especially when…” He trailed off as Eric walked into the study and slammed the door shut behind him. Probably to do more research, he thought grumpily

“Ever since that night at the club”, Eric began softly as he watched Speed stare blankly at the television, “I… I’ve been scared. I don’t know if you’ve noticed”, he continued as he sat beside the trace expert on the couch, “But I only go out drinking as a team or with you or someone I trust”

“I had noticed”, Speed admitted when Eric stopped then pulled him closer. Eric obliged by snuggling into him

“I just… I wanna know what’s making this… I feel like there’s something right here Tim”. He guided Speed’s hands to his own heart. “I want that feeling gone”

“And if you can’t recover your memories. Or worse if those memories actually bring you more pain. I meant what I said babe. I just… watching you get hurt… I’m not strong enough to see that. I’m scared too. I’m scared that whatever it is will…”, he trailed off as his voice choked

It was Eric’s turn to sigh. “Ok, I’ll tell Dr. Marsh…”

“We”, Speed corrected. “I wanna find out what those options are”

“What?” Eric sat up properly to look at him and then turned his face around when Speed still stared at the wall. Speed rested his forehead against his fiancé’s before speaking. 

“Since I haven’t managed to distract you from your stupid scheme”, he muttered lips close against Eric’s, “I might as well find out what you’re getting yourself into”. Unable to resist the urge anymore, he kissed the younger man

“Congratulations”. The many voices echoed around the room as Eric and Speed looked around happily at their circle of friends and family. That was until Calleigh asked the one question neither of them wanted to answer

“Wait when did he actually propose?”

The questions flowed after that

“And where’s the ring?”

“And who actually proposed”

“No”, was Speed’s only answer making Eric laugh

“No what?” Calleigh sounded puzzled

“Yeah baby. Tell us”, Alexx added with a look on her face that said you’re gonna cave anyway so you might as well do it now

“Ok, ok”, Eric answered with another laugh. “What? If we don’t tell them they might hurt us”

“I definitely will”, Marisa confirmed

“Fine. I asked him after my stay at the hospital and no I don’t do rings”, Speed groused.

“That was a month ago”. Calleigh sounded hurt making them wince.

“Yeah well it was sorta new. We just you know wanted to…”, Eric tried to explain. “Cal c’mon”, he whined. “We just didn’t know how to tell all of you together and anyway it got Speed to actually celebrate his birthday”

“Fine”, she gave in and the party continued

“Congratulations Eric”, his uncle said from a quiet corner as Eric sidled up to him. Calleigh for once had dragged Speed on to the dance floor and he watched as they glided, actually glided to the soft music. “He can really dance when he chooses to huh?”, Horatio observed when Eric remained silent. 

“You know I didn’t hide this from you deliberately, right?”, he asked his uncle at last after another round of silence. 

“I do know that son”, Horatio admitted softly. 

Ever since Jack’s arrest, the relationship between Eric and his family – except for Marisa – had been strained to the point where he hadn’t been out with them socially, not even after church. And he hadn’t been to his family home since that day at the lab, when he had accused his dad and his uncle of keeping secrets from him, and while he had encountered Horatio at work, he had kept the conversation to a level of professionalism that the redhead hadn’t seen even during the younger man’s initial days when he had had an actual fear of getting caught. Now though, the part-Cuban seemed to have decided to stop being mad at him and leant into him. Horatio who had missed him more than he’d care to admit pulled him closer. 

“What?”, he asked when he saw the younger man stare. Eric had a mischievous look on his face and his hackles rose

“I know for a fact that he’s not the only one who can dance well”, Eric said as he winked, causing Horatio to whack him on the back of the head

“I’m not asking her to dance”

“C’mon uncle H. You blew it the first time, but this is the perfect opportunity”

“Would you stop trying to play matchmaker”, his uncle groused in a fair imitation of Speed. Speaking of whom… “Don’t you have a wedding to plan”. He raised his voice just as Speed was coming over. Speed froze then turned to his son with a look of panic on his face

Eric glared. “That was deliberate”

“Hey, yeah Horatio’s right”, Calleigh added. “Actually he’s wrong about one thing. We”, she said pointedly including the whole room in her gesture. “Have a wedding to plan”

“I am going to kill you”, was Speed’s only response to that and Eric gulped

“How was the party?”, Stetler asked him bitingly at the entrance to the lab the next day

“Did you want something Ric?”, Horatio responded calmly and watched as he frowned

“Eric’s doctor’s report”, he said at last as he handed Horatio a file. “She thinks he can continue being on the field”

“Thank you. You needn’t have walked this over”

Stetler gave him another look then took off

“You know when he finds out he’s gonna kill me right?”, the young man asked her but then continued kissing her anyway

“If it helps he has wanted to kill every single guy I dated”

“Thanks a lot that makes me feel so much better”

“You’re welcome. Oh, I almost forgot”, she added with a look he had seen on her brother’s face too many times. While seeing it on Eric’s usually made him want to kill the older man, the look on her face was adorable he thought leaning in for another kiss… that was until her next words… “Speed’s worse than him. And of course there’s uncle H…”

Marisa laughed as his face turned green. “What about Calleigh and Alexx?”, he asked her seriously and she laughed harder. “No really, have you met them?”

“I have and I think Calleigh’s sweet. You do know Eric’s trying to…”

“Set her up with Horatio, yeah everyone and I mean everyone in the lab’s seen that”

“Oh yeah. I think uncle H has resigned himself to it and may actually end up going for it”

“Really?” A weird look crossed his face and she laughed again

“You don’t think they make a cute couple?”

His face didn’t turn green this time, but he did look like he had smelt something nasty. “My boss’ love life is not something I generally want to think about.”

“Oh c’mon Horatio’s not that old”, she protested. “He’s only about…”. She stopped. “He’s only about 20 years older than me… wow”

He did the math in his head. And ended up saying the wrong thing. “So you’re about four years older than me”

Her glare, he conceded was worse than Delko’s and he swallowed. “The way you’re going Ryan. Eric may not need to hurt you. I might just dump you before long”. With that she tossed her hair and walked off

Ryan cursed himself and wondered how the hell he was going to fix this

“I need some advice”

“On”

“I opened my mouth and inserted my foot in it. And now…”

“Marisa’s mad at you”, Speed completed, and he froze.

Ryan winced then wondered where his brain had gotten to when he had decided to ask Speed – the man who was not just his immediate supervisor but also Delko’s fiancé and from what Marisa had told him one of her protectors – for suggestions on how to fix his relationship with Delko’s sister

He decided backing out of there slowly was the right idea

“She loves flowers”, Speed groused sounding as if he wanted to throw up. “The more the better”

“Any suggestions on the kind of…”

Speed actually glared at him and he scampered away

“Whoa. Who the hell are these from?”, Eric asked his sister as she smelt the bouquet of roses, lilies, tulips… and even. “Wait is that a…?”

“Wreath, yeah”, Speed completed his sentence with a long suffering sigh as they both walked into the Delko family home. ‘Ryan’, he thought. ‘I meant flowers as in actual flowers not every kind in a shop’

Marisa ignored his jibe in favour of kissing his cheek. “Thanks”, she whispered giving him a hug

“Should I be jealous”, Eric asked them both half seriously.

Speed shot him a glare while Marisa rolled her eyes. “Yup, Speed’s secretly in love with me and got me flowers”

“Don’t encourage him”

“Ok, now I wanna know who they’re really from”. With that Eric stole the card and ran off

“That’s not gonna tell him anything is it?”, Speed realised when Marisa remained in place

“Nope, no one is gonna think Ryan’s capable of poetry. Speaking of…”

“I didn’t tell him anything about poems”

“He got me flowers for a funeral”

“All I told him was the more the merrier. It’s not my fault he can’t read”

She whacked his arm. “Does that mean you approve?”

“I might think about warning you off this time”, he decided then smirked when she growled

“Hypnotism?” The way Speed said that one word made Eric wince. 

“Yes really”, Dr. Marsh agreed calmly, ignoring his sarcasm. “It has been shown to recover memories”

“You mean those ‘experiments’ they do, where a carnival psychic…”

“Speed”, Eric protested, but Dr. Marsh shook her head.

“It’s ok Eric. Officer Speedle has a right to be concerned”

Speed glared at what he considered her condescending answer. “I’m not concerned. I’m just wondering how someone who claims to be a doctor can entertain the idea that a parlour trick like hypnotism…”

“Speed”, Eric interrupted him again, and whacked him on the arm

“You don’t actually believe in therapy, do you, Officer Speedle?”

“No I don’t. I think psychology is just mind-babble”

“Then I can’t convince you of this. Oh, I could direct you to a lot of studies by reputable scientists…”

He didn’t see the trap. “No one who calls himself a scientist, can believe that someone can actually get into your head, and recover lost memories. What next? Are you going to tell me, you can look into Delko’s previous life?”

“Well I could point out that Officer Delko is Catholic, and that his religion forbids the idea of reincarnation”, she answered, as she walked away to her library. “But I think a more useful thing to do” - she returned with three books - “Is to ask you to look into these. And if you don’t want to trust them, well I’m sure a smart man like you can find other resources”

“To what, back up your theory?”

“Or to dispute them”, she answered still calm. “You’re a scientist Officer Speedle. Prove me wrong”

“I’m sorry”, Speed aplogised, but Eric remained stone-faced. “I didn’t mean to…”

“What insult her?”

‘Ouch’, Speed thought, as he watched Eric insert a sample into the mass-spec with the grace of a gorilla. “You know that thing’s worth more than your annual salary by about…” His untimely joke trailed off at Eric’s glare, and he resisted the urge to check if he had a hole in his forehead. “If it helps, I am going to read the books she gave me”

“Thanks a lot”. The tone told him say something useful or get lost

Speed decided to exit stage left

“Hypnotism?” Even Horatio sounded skeptical, making Speed feel better.

“Yeah. Dr. Marsh has him thinking it’s possible”, he ground out. “You aren’t going to tell him about this conversation, right?”

“How do you expect me to convince him against this idea otherwise?”, the redhead pointed out reasonably

Speed glared. “We both know you can talk circles around him. I mean, he’ll listen to anything you say, and not ask for the source”. Horatio resisted the urge to wince and kept his face blank. If Speed had just tried to subtly insult him, by reminding him of all his lies to Eric, well he hadn’t been so subtle, and Horatio hadn’t needed the reminder. 

“Did you read the books she gave you?”

“Yes.” A pause then… “I also found a bunch of other books that actually support her theory”

“And?”

He wanted to whack Horatio for knowing him so well. “One of it is by a former professor from Columbia who I know personally. And he’s not crazy or a fraud”

“So, you do believe in the science”

“As much as I hate to admit it, she may have a point”

“So, what’s the problem”. Speed glared again. His glare intensified at Horatio’s next words. “It’s not our call Tim”, the redhead said softly, almost as if he was telling himself that as well

“So now you choose to…”, he trailed off at Horatio’s look. “I don’t want him to get hurt”, he admitted instead, going for the truth. 

“I know that…”

“No you don’t H… Cause you weren’t the one who had to watch him flinch every time I tried to go near him, you weren’t the one who listened to all of his nightmares. Do you know, that just hearing that bastard’s name makes him shake?”

Horatio let Speed rant even if all he wanted to do was find a way to bring Manny back to life and kill him slowly himself. Not for the first time, he really wished Jack had come to him, when he had found about Justin, because while the statute of limitations was definitely over for Eric, Horatio could have put him away for this offense…. And made sure he was in general population. Pedophiles really did not do well in prison

“What about Justin?”, Speed asked him, as if he had realised where the redhead’s mind had wandered to

“He hasn’t talked about it at all”, Horatio admitted. He had tried, and so had Pavel, but Justin had shut them all out. Horatio suspected the teen didn’t remember much either

“He still thinks it’s Eric’s fault, doesn’t he?” After Jack’s arrest, Eric’s relationship with Isa, which already hadn’t been great, had gone further down the toilet. While it was true that she didn’t blame Eric at all for what happened with Justin or Jack, she didn’t want to see him either. Speed suspected it was guilt that kept her away. Justin, though, Justin had been upset with Eric for his dad’s arrest, even if it was Calleigh and Horatio who had put him away. He decided a lighter subject was in order and speaking of the blond… “I saw the way you guys dance…”

“I will take you out of the field if you finish that sentence”. Speed laughed then laughed harder as Horatio ranted. “One dance. It was one dance and now Eric’s acting as if…”

“The two of you are picking out china?”

‘Oops’, he thought

“If you don’t have anything to do other than bother me, I can assign you more paperwork”

Maybe he was suicidal, but he couldn’t resist the urge to bait Horatio further. “Did that threat work with Eric?”

Horatio’s look turned sour. “No, because Ryan’s chosen a horrible time to take his only vacation in two years”

Speed couldn’t help but laugh again. The young scientist had, for the first time in two years asked Horatio for vacation time, and Horatio had had no choice but to approve it. Eric, knowing the redhead couldn’t actually bench him given they were one CSI short, had been taking every opportunity to provoke his uncle and push him further towards the blond

“You do know that he’s gone off with Marisa, right?”

“Yup, I think the only one who’s still clueless is Eric”

“Did you threaten him?”

Horatio paused. “I told Marisa to be careful with him”, he admitted finally, and Speed laughed again

“I told her the same thing. Those Delkos are heartbreakers, aren’t they?”

Horatio thought of Marisol and couldn’t help but nod. “You know the first time I realised you two had something, I told Eric to not break the lab up if he chose to take it further”

Speed rubbed the back of his neck. “Yet I was the one who broke his heart”. Horatio’s smile was fond

“I wanted to kill you for that, but Eric told me you had your reasons”

“I did”, he admitted. “I was scared, and I almost destroyed the best thing that happened to me”

“That’s in the past Tim”, Horatio responded at his grim look. 

“I know…”, he trailed off. “Anyway, I better get going. I have some groveling to do”

Horatio’s laugh followed him on his way out

“What’s the occasion?” Eric’s whisper in his ear and his arms around his waist startled Speed, and he cursed.

“You’re home early”, he grumbled, not having expected his fiancé for at least an hour. 

“Yeah well, sarge decided I looked green enough and asked me to get lost. I hate diving in the Glades”

Speed laughed. “Think of it as good karma for helping a friend out”

“You’ve been talking to Calleigh”, Eric mumbled, then sniffed the air. “What are you trying to bribe me for?”, he asked the older man, his arms still locked around Speed’s waist, as he realised his fiancé was making Cuban

Speed turned around in his arms. “If I wanted to convince you this is what I do”, he whispered, as he kissed him senseless, then nonchalantly turned back to his sauce. 

“What leave me hot and bothered?” Eric tried to sound annoyed but couldn’t actually manage it. “So, what’s this for?”

“This is my apology for being an ass”

“Wait, does that mean…?”

“Yup”

“No”

“Speed c’mon”, Eric whined, then planted kisses on his face and neck

“No”, Speed repeated, but his resistance was wearing and they both knew it

“You might as well give in”, Eric said smugly. “Because you know as well as I do that…”, he trailed off with a gulp. 

Speed effortlessly flipped them over, and Eric was the one being kissed now. “Fine”, he agreed, as he began leaving a trail of kisses down Eric’s firm chest. 

Eric’s brain, had of course, left the building and he barely heard Speed’s response


	2. Chapter 2

“Behavioral Analysis Unit. Wow that’s just great man. Congratulations”

Luke laughed at Phil’s enthusiasm. “Thanks. I couldn’t believe it either”

“Yeah well you deserve it Luke. When are you joining them?”

“In two days”. His voice was still light but the way his hands were drumming on the table told Phil he was actually nervous. Luke didn’t have many – scratch that - any tells for an outsider to pick up on. But when he was around people he trusted he relaxed enough to be his true self. And Phil was honoured to be one of those people

“I’m gonna miss you here man”, he admitted softly and watched as his friend’s smile turned sad

Entering the corridor that led to the office of SSA Aaron Hotchner, Luke took a minute to breathe. Even if he had been told that the job was his and that this interview was only a formality he still wanted to make a good impression. ‘Should’ve dressed a little better’, he heard her mocking voice whisper in his head as he looked down at his plaid button down and black jeans.

Shaking off memories of the only woman he had fallen for he walked into the BAU bullpen. He was spotted immediately by a muscle-bound black man who gave him a curious look. “Can I help you?”

“Hi”, Luke held out his hand. “Agent Alvez. I’m here to meet Agent Hotchner”

“Oh yeah the new guy”, the Agent quipped then introduced himself and his colleague. “SSA Derek Morgan, this is SSA Spencer Reid”. He pointed to a thin man who looked more like a student than a member of the FBI. But Luke had done his research and had found out that Dr. Reid actually had three PHDs, and an IQ of 187.

“Nice to meet you Agent Morgan, Dr. Reid”

“Hi”, Reid stuttered but Morgan raised an eyebrow impressed at his use of the young genius’ title

“Agent Hotchner’s office is up there”. He indicated the correct door

‘No nonsense.’ That was the first word that popped into Luke’s head as he entered the offices of SSA Aaron Hotchner at the quiet command

“Agent Hotchner. My name’s Luke Alvez”

“Oh yes”, Hotchner responded as he looked up from his paperwork. He had a warm smile for someone with such a stern face. “Nice to meet you in person Agent Alvez”. He shook Luke’s hand with a firm grip as he directed him to a chair

It was a few minutes later that he met the rest of the team in the conference room. “You already know Morgan and Reid. This is Special Agent Jenifer Jareau, our team’s liaison” - Hotch indicated a beautiful blond. “And that is Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia”

“You’re the newbie huh?”, Garcia asked him

Luke raised an eyebrow. “Newbie”

“Everyone on the team gets a nickname”, she informed him haughtily and might have as well have added a ‘duh’

Luke’s response was a chuckle

Over the next few weeks Luke discovered that his new team was filled with a bunch of brilliant but eclectic people. Hotch and Jareau, were two of the most professional members of the team and this showed in their appearance. Hotch especially dressed not just formally but his dress shirt, suit, and tie probably followed some sort of FBI manual to a T. Jenifer ‘JJ’ Jareau wasn’t as bad but he still hadn’t seen her turn up in jeans or really anything colourful

On the other end of the spectrum was Penelope Garcia, who not just wore loud clothes, but had a teasing manner some might call inappropriate. Course if they did, they did it far away from her because just like Reid she was a genius and could destroy you easily if she chose to. Her weapon of choice he had discovered was a computer and an internet connection and there was no part of your life you could actually hide from her if she wanted to find you

Derek Morgan as far as Luke could see was the most ambivalent, because while he could and did joke around and flirt with every woman he saw especially Garcia, Luke realised that not even the blond tech who he was closest to knew absolutely anything about him. Heck Luke had been here almost a month and for a profiler in training he couldn’t even tell what Morgan’s favourite kind of coffee was. One thing he could tell though was that Morgan was a protector – not just of Garcia and Reid – but of all of them including himself. Luke had to admit he was touched he had been accepted so soon by the African-American

SSA Dr. Spencer Reid fit a stereotype. If you searched for the word ‘nerd’ you’d probably find his picture next to it. Alvez had discovered that Reid didn’t just have those PHDs and a high IQ but had an eidetic memory and could read as fast as probably a supercomputer. This meant not only did he have a lot of time to read up on anything and everything he chose to but could remember everything he read. Luke didn’t envy him that talent though because while it did help them in catching their ‘unsubs’ as the BAU called their bad guys, he knew if he ended up recalling every single horror they had ever committed he’d be in a strait jacket before long

Hotchner he had discovered was the easiest to read. If he had to guess Luke would say the guy was born in a high-society family with little to no love. The word no nonsense was spot on when it came to him. He not only looked it but acted it. But again just like the rest of them he had his ‘curves’ because he could if he chose to laugh and joke around; even if it was only with his team

The one missing-in-action was Jason Gideon the original ‘creator’ of the BAU along with his long-term partner-in-crime, former FBI agent and now famous writer David Rossi. Gideon’s name wasn’t exactly taboo around the bullpen but most people simply avoided mentioning the elephant in the room anyway. While Luke had been curious about Gideon, he had followed the unspoken rule and kept his mouth shut

Of course if it hadn’t been for Gideon and the mess in Boston, Luke never would’ve found himself in the BAU. Gideon he had learnt had basically been ordered to take a ‘break’ from the field after Adrien Bale the serial bomber had managed to lure six of his agents into a trap. Two of them had been from the BAU and one of them had been closest to Derek Morgan who had taken it really hard. But where Morgan could’ve distanced himself from the ‘replacement’ he had chosen to actually befriend Luke

“Yo Alvez. Drinks tonight. You coming?”, the African-American asked him as he did most nights

Luke barely looked up from the file he was perusing as he gave his standard answer. “Huh no thanks. Got to catch up on some paperwork”

“What paperwork. Yours is the cleanest desk out here”, JJ protested then whacked him on the arm.

“Ah c’mon woman. Stop that”, he yelled annoyed. He had no idea what her hobbies had been as a kid but if he would have to guess he’d say wrestling boys. She had one hell of a right arm. JJ smirked as if she had known what he was thinking

“Everyone’s going out tonight”, he heard Hotch order. Luke turned around to object but caught the stony look on his face; even if there was something else on there that could be called a smirk

He ignored his unit chief in favour of glaring at the person that had probably been the cause of that rule but was again smirked at this time openly by the other blond on the team. “That’s right newbie. Tonight you are coming out with us even if I have to have Morgan personally drag and cuff you to a table”

That earned her an eye-roll. “Fine. But only if you’re buying”

“Oh dream on Alvez”, was Morgan’s contribution

“New guy pays”, JJ added

“But I never paid when I…”, Reid began the only one to defend him but Garcia shut his mouth by placing her hand over it causing the touch-shy germophobic genius to jump. “Garcia”, he protested before he ran off, if Luke had to guess to sanitise his hands and mouth

“So, what’s your story?”, JJ asked him curiously when she came back from where she had been playing darts with a bunch of men

“Wouldn’t you like to know”, he shot back with a wink

“Because you see if I had to guess, I’d guess military”

He smirked. “You’re way off”

“Oh I know that newbie”. He rolled his eyes. She had almost made the word sound like an insult but couldn’t match Garcia’s tone. “I know you’re not army but you have this subtle protector thing going just like Morgan”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”, he asked her but her smile made him feel he would’ve been better off keeping his mouth shut

“Close your eyes”, she ordered in reply and he gave her a yeah right look. “No, I’m serious close your eyes. Humour me”. He gave in doing as he was asked. “Now tell me where everyone is?”

His eyes shot open. “Say what?”

“Close your eyes and tell me where everyone on the team is”, she repeated and he knew he was busted. Cos she was right. Without looking he could pinpoint exactly where not just everyone was but who was behind him and where every single exit was

“It’s not the army”, was all he said as he turned away

“I’m sorry Luke”. She realised she had stepped on a nerve. Normally Luke could have brushed it off but tonight he didn’t. “I thought there was a no profiling rule on the team”, was what he said instead

“Yes there is and I am…”

“It’s called PTSD”, he interrupted her. “And it’s none of your business”. He walked off needing a moment to calm down

She found him leaning by his car outside. The only sign he had been upset was his slightly drumming hands. “I was undercover for three years”, he told her not even knowing why he was opening up. JJ kept her mouth shut waiting for him to continue but he stopped. Most of his work was classified after all. “You know for someone who’s not a profiler”, he added after a minute, “You’re usually spot on”

“Who says I can’t profile?”, she asked him snootily. He managed a weak chuckle

“So why are you still a liaison then?” His tone told her she could leave the question alone if she wanted to. She considered her answer. 

“Because I’m able to talk to the families. Sometimes if I am lucky I am even able to give them closure, but mostly it’s because I know they could use someone to listen to”. The way she said what she said told him more than her words could’ve and he realised he was the one who had opened a can of worms

“I’m sorry JJ”, he winced. “That was… That was none of my business”

“It’s fine Luke and it’s not quid pro quo. It’s called talking to your friend”. He startled for a minute as if the concept of friendship was alien to him then smiled as he realised that she was right. And at the fact that she actually considered him a friend

Over the next few months Luke and JJ’s friendship developed to the point where even a bunch of highly intelligent profilers, wondered if there was something going on between them, well three on the team wondered. The fourth who normally should have been oblivious had steam come out of his ears every time he saw them laugh together. Of course the only one who seemed to not notice this was JJ. Luke wondered if he should help them out then decided against it. JJ was really good with hand to hand combat. Plus she was a dead shot. And Reid probably knew about a hundred different ways to kill him without coming anywhere near him

That didn’t mean they couldn’t have some fun. 

Luke discovered that JJ could be evil if she really wanted to and she was enjoying messing with her team too much at the moment. She not just spent a lot of time with him because she genuinely enjoyed it but as a way to fuel all of their – and especially Garcia’s – imagination. They had discovered to their good fortune that they both lived in the same neighbourhood and had decided to carpool most days which meant the team saw them come in and leave together. Of course the drawback for JJ was that Luke was someone who enjoyed waking up and getting to work early; really early

“C’mon waking up with the sun is healthy”, he pointed out when she complained for the fifth time in a row that week. “Plus I get to go on a run with Roxy”

“And when the hell am I going to get to meet that sweet girl”

“What sweet girl?”, Garcia asked causing JJ to smile. “Oh Luke’s little girl, Roxy”. Luke glared knowing exactly how the tech analyst would interpret those words and he wasn’t wrong

“You have a daughter”, she yelled loudly enough for most of the bullpen to hear

“Not exac…”

Before he had been able to explain though they had been called to the round table room by Hotch

It was the case from New York that would eventually reunite him with Eric

“Jayje”

“Hm, hm”, JJ responded without even looking up from her desk and the mountain of paperwork it was buried under

“How do you know if we have one unsub or just multiple unconnected cases?”, Luke asked as he walked into her office

JJ frowned at what she felt was a ‘rookie’ question but decided to humour him anyway. “Victimology. You always look at the victim first”

“And?”

“You have victims who have something in common?”, she asked him now curious

“And?”, he repeated and she gave in

“You look at the method of kill, the circumstances, the motivation – that’s what tells you if we have an unsub”

“And if all I had was one maybe connection between the victims, a bunch of random MOs and no motivation that I can find except for the said connection”

“Then you don’t have a case”, she responded wondering why he had even come to her. He finally decided to elaborate

“I have this friend who knows this detective in New York. Guy named Fusco. His victim is a young Hispanic male who was supposedly killed by his best friend at a construction site”

“But the detective thinks there’s more to it”. He ignored her face that said the detective was wrong

“The detective decided to dig and found three other cases of young males of the same age range murdered in the last three years”

“And the age-range is?”

“25-30”

“What’s the connection between the victims?”

He paused… Then… “They were all adopted”

“Luke”. Her tone said it all. 

“You think I’m projecting”. 

One of the first rules as a profiler, well first rule for anyone who solved crimes for a living was to never let their own experiences colour their judgement. And in this case… well the victims were his age range, and as he had told her not too long ago he had been adopted as well

She didn’t answer his question right away. “What makes you think the cases are related?”, she asked him instead

“That’s just it. I’m not the one that says they’re related. It’s this detective”. Her look said stop bullshitting me. “Look Jayje. I took a look at this guy’s file and there is no motive for his friend to have killed him”

“What do the local cops think”

“The Crime Lab investigated and found the guy’s prints on the brick that was used to smash the vic’s head in”

“I’ve heard of their Crime Lab Luke. Those guys are good”

“Yeah well I happen to know they’re not infallible”, he shot back thinking of Eric and Shannon Walsh

“What do you…” He waved her off with a gesture that told her it was probably connected to his undercover work. It was one of the few things he’d refused to talk to her about

“You and I both know we can’t investigate if we aren’t invited in”, she tried reasoning with him. “And if these cases are closed…”

“Not all of them are, the one from Maine is still an unsolved”

“And the other two?”

“One of them was killed by the vic’s sister and the other one by the mother. Again they found prints on scene”

“And the MO?”

“Electrocution and poison”. His tone was defeated. He had probably known what her reaction would’ve been before he had come in here

She hesitated at the look on his face and gave in. “Tell you what, let me take this to Hotch and see if he will allow Garcia to dig a little deeper”, she said finally and he shot her a hopeful look. “But if he says we don’t have a case…”

“I’ll walk away I promise”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rudy's vocabulary is all over the place but in my defense I wrote this about a year ago when I didn't know much about American English and its regional variation
> 
> Oh and btw I wish I could say I studied it to know it but it was too much television - Hollywood that it, that taught me the difference
> 
> And btw if anyone's reading this and wondering why so much time on an OC he was originally going to play a part in part 4 which I never finished so... I liked the chapter so I let it be

“I got to agree with you babe”, Tim Speedle said in a soft voice as he looked up at the beautiful starry sky over them. “This is heaven”

The laughter from his husband tickled his neck. “See I was right”, Eric responded tone smug

“Not always”, Speed argued as he rolled over to stare at a sight that was just as beautiful to him as the stars above.

Eric blushed. “What?”, he asked at the look on Speed’s face. Speed’s smile changed into something infinitely gentle as his hand traced patterns on Eric’s cheek. He was about to lean in for a kiss when he heard their ‘host’ walk over

Rudy Garfield had met the two CSIs when they had come into his diner lost from a road trip across the deserts of Nevada. Both men had been tired, hungry and in Speed’s case frustrated at the fact that what was supposed to have been – according to his moronic husband at least - an adventurous ride had turned into such a mess. “At least they’d have had a bathtub and hot water in the hotel”, he had complained as Eric had pointed to a shack in the middle of nowhere that looked like it had stood there forever. Eric had made a rude hand gesture, stopped the SUV and had walked into said shack like it was the Four Seasons leaving Speed no choice but to follow

Once on the inside though Speed had to admit that there was something to the old adage ‘Appearances can be deceptive’. Because he had found a respectable if somewhat old-fashioned place that not just had running water but a restroom that looked sparkly clean even to the CSI’s critical eye. And while the place didn’t have much in way of staff, just the old man, who appeared to be the owner and the cook, one waitress and two young men who seemed to keep the place in order, he had to admit they managed well with what they did have

Plus the burgers had been as Eric had said to die for.

Eric had after an hour of listening to Speed’s whine, feeling the need for other conversation quickly begun talking to the owner. That was when both men had discovered that Rudy not only looked ancient but was over seventy years old. To say they had been surprised would have been an understatement because the ‘ancient man’ probably moved better than a forty year old. Speed and Eric were sure the only reason they had not been embarrassed had been due to the fact that they were cops

“You have got to give us the recipe”, Eric had begged their host after he had practically inhaled five of his burgers in a row. 

Rudy had laughed. “Sorry kid old family secret. No way I’m just tellin’ you two”

“Oh c’mon there must be something we could do in return for them”, Eric had argued ignoring Speed’s “Wait what?”

“Tell you what. Work for me for the next couple of days in the kitchen and you got yourselves a deal. Plus you’ll learn the recipe then anyway”. If he had expected them to say no way in hell though Eric had surprised him once again. Speed had initially objected but Eric had begged him with those doe eyes and he had to his own disbelief found himself giving in. 

That had been four days ago and apart from going back to Las Vegas for Eric’s sessions with the shrink recommended by Dr. Marsh both young men had spent time in the desert with Rudy

“Here you go boys”. Rudy handed them a couple of cold beers. 

“Thanks”, Eric said sitting up. “How long have you been here Rudy?”, he asked the old man feeling curious about him

“Feels like forever now”, Rudy admitted softly his eyes flowing across the arid landscape. “A long while ago there was this silver mine a few miles north of here and this booming town that grew around it”, he began telling them a story that was true of most ghost towns in the country

“So why don’t you move?”, Eric asked him as Rudy finished describing a life of loneliness and desolation

“Eric”. Speed whacked his arm. “That’s just rude kid. And probably personal”. Eric to his eternal exasperation had no concept of boundaries

Rudy only chuckled. “It’s fine kid”. Eric as usual laughed when Rudy called Speed kid. “But to answer your question Eric, I can’t afford to move”

“Oh… Speed’s right Rudy, sorry that is personal and…”. His eyes showed his curiosity though and Rudy chuckled again. 

“My old lady died right here. Cancer got her”, he explained when Speed looked curious as well and both CSIs winced. “Before that though, we weren’t rich mind, but we had a good life in Alamo. But then the medical bills drove me to sell everything except for this shack. Mind you no one actually wants this place so”

“But this place sees a reasonable amount of foot traffic”, Eric argued

“Most of them are locals. And they’re broke. Pay me back in groceries and favours. Most tourists like you only wander in here if they’re lost. And no matter how good me burgers, they leave after one meal”

Both of them missed the thoughtful look that crossed Speed’s face

“I like Rudy”, Eric said as they walked back into the hotel they’d been staying at after midnight. If he had expected Speed to tell him he was an idiot for trusting a stranger the objection never came. In fact Speed looked to be just as far away as he had been earlier when they had been drinking their beers. “Of course I also found this nice E.T. in the middle of the desert and now he wants us to join him on his spaceship for some kinky sex”

“That’s nice”, Speed answered when Eric paused for breath. Eric rolled his eyes and not caring that it was the middle of the lobby pinched his arm; hard. “Ah”, Speed cried out then cringed as the eyes of everyone in the hotel fell on him.

“Oops”, Eric muttered as he found the people around him staring at them like they were nuts

“Eric”, his husband of four days complained

“What you looked really lost”, Eric mumbled wilting under Speed’s glare

“Fine”, Speed ground out as he walked ahead of the part-Cuban to the elevators leaving Eric to follow him in a meek silence

“I said I was sorry all right”, Eric groused when Speed continued to give him the silent treatment even back in their hotel room

“What?”, Speed responded still looking lost

“Tim”, Eric complained. “What the heck’s gotten into you. You look like you’re a million miles away”

“I was just wondering what it would be like to live out there in the middle of nowhere like Rudy’s been doing”, he admitted honestly making Eric gape

“Have you actually done something like this before?”

Speed heard the curiosity in Eric’s voice and laughed. Holding out his hand he pulled Eric on to his lap and kissed him gently. Just as Eric was wondering if he wouldn’t be getting an answer though Speed pulled back. “No. I haven’t actually lived out in the middle of nowhere. But I didn’t always have a home either”

“What do you mean?” Speed hesitated at the question. This was one part of his life not even Alexx knew about. “You don’t have to…”, Eric began catching the look on his face when he was kissed again

“After… after Drew…”, He stopped then wet his lips and tried again. “Alexx told you about my parents right?” Eric’s face automatically darkened as he thought of the Speedles making Speed hug him. “That’s my past babe”, he whispered. “Now I have you, Alexx, Mike, H and your family”

“Yes you do”, Eric told him firmly. Speed was never going to be alone if he had anything to say about it

“Then that’s all I need”, he said softly then kissed him again. “But back then… After Drew… I sorta flipped. My…” - Speed really didn’t want to refer to Rose Speedle as his mother. Not anymore. “She said the wrong thing”, he said instead and Eric understood, “And I… well I destroyed a bunch of stuff including my room and some of the antiques in the house”. He had thought he was over this but found his eyes filling with tears anyway. “My fa… he came up behind me and… It was an accident I swear but I pushed him”. He stopped again. “They had me arrested for assault and destruction of property the next day”

“What?” Eric gaped. “But…”

“No, he wasn’t hurt”, Speed answered Eric’s unasked question

“But then why would the cops arrest you”

“Because my parents had money”

Eric though couldn’t wrap his mind around it. “But you were hurting, your best friend had died…”

Speed’s laugh was bitter. “You’re actually supposing they cared kid. They didn’t give a damn about me and Drew. Thought he was gay like me… That’s what she said that set me off… she said the world should be happy it had lost another homosexual freak”. He lost the battle with his emotions and cried. Eric who had been dumbfounded for a minute could only pull Speed into his arms and hold him close.

“After that”. Speed continued a few minutes later when they had settled down onto the bed. His arms were firmly wrapped around Eric and he felt like he’d never want to let go. “After that I… That’s how I met Flack Sr. who had to get involved because of who my parents were”

“Was he the chief of police back then?”

“Hm, hm. Yeah he was. He was also the one to tell me where Mike lived when he learnt who Drew was to me… And anyway he saw the charges for what it was and quietly made sure it went away”

“He gave you your life back”, Eric realised knowing that Speed at probably nineteen would have been tried as an adult. And given his parents’ influence who knew how many years he would’ve gotten in prison

“He wanted me to go back home or to Columbia, my uni”, he added at Eric’s curious look. “But I couldn’t. So I… I guess I wandered. Probably did a lot of things back then that I wasn’t proud of”

“That’s why you’re easy on lost kids aren’t you. Just like H”

“I’m not easy on anyone”, Speed argued.

“Oh c’mon Tim”, Eric said with a light laugh. “We both know underneath all that snark you’re actually a big softy”

“Oh yeah”, Speed rolled them over and ended up on top of Eric. “Let me show you how hard I can actually get”

Eric rolled his eyes at the stupid pun but knew he had set himself up for it

“It’s not charity Rudy”, Speed argued quietly as he sat in the kitchen area of the diner three days later

Rudy glared at him for a minute before he decided to shelve the conversation for now. “Where’s that boy of yours anyway?”, he asked the younger man instead making Speed smile

“Doctor’s”

“He sick or something”. The concern in his voice was unmistakable

“No… he… he’s come here to see a shrink”

“Shrink”. Rudy’s opinion of shrinks seemed to match his own if the way he had said the word was any indication. “So why the hell aren’t you there”

“They threw me out”, Speed admitted honestly as he sipped his beer. After three sessions of them getting nowhere with the hypnotism mainly because he would force the doctor to bring Eric back if he even saw the slightest sign of distress on the younger man’s face he had been told by both of them to get lost

“So you decided to come ’ere and bother me instead”

“Rudy please just hear me out ok”

“No Timmy”. Speed was suddenly really glad Eric wasn’t there when Rudy called him Timmy. “You wanna not just buy this place from me mind, you actually want me to continue runnin’ it if I want to. That sounds crazy to me. Especially when you say you don’t want no profits. Mind there isn’t any such thing called profits in this place”

“Or as I said I could set you up near LV and then there’d be profits”

“I’m an old dog Tim. I ain’t gonna learn no new tricks”

Speed smiled. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you old man. You don’t need new tricks. Hell you could probably own a franchise in the next five years with just your burgers. And trust me my father is this rich restaurateur and though I hate that bastard, I actually learnt how a restaurant works from him. I know exactly what I’m talking about”

“Las Vegas is a big town. I know no one there”

“Then come back to Miami with Eric and me”

“That’s even crazier than going to Sin City”

“Look Rudy, Eric if he was here would tell you that my best and worst quality is persistence, so no I’m not going away. Not until you give me the answer I want”. He ignored Rudy’s “You’re a tourist boy. You have to leave”

“But Tim, think about it why would you just waste all your hard-earned money on me. I could be a con artist for all you know”

“You could be”, Speed said calmly, “But thanks to my bastard of a father I lived on the streets for almost a year. I learnt to trust my gut and my gut says most of what you’ve told me is true. Plus I’m a cop. I asked a friend of mine to look into you as a favour”. Rudy’s open and honest expression suddenly became wary. Speed ignored it. “So yes I do know, that while your wife died of cancer, she didn’t die here. She died in a hospital in Las Vegas and is buried out there. I also discovered that you have a rich son who you haven’t spoken to in years and whose nose you broke at your wife’s funeral. There was an open warrant out for your arrest”

The tense caught Rudy’s attention. “Was?”

“Yes was. Like I said I have friends in Vegas. Or at least my L.T. has. I called him and he called in another favour and your warrant disappeared”

“I… I don’t know what to say”, the old man stammered at last

“Just say yes Rudy. Stay here, stay in Vegas heck move cross country or really anywhere I don’t care”

“That still don’t explain why you would do this for me”

Speed smiled again. “I have this friend who would say it was good karma”

“But not you?”

“I don’t believe in God, karma or the afterlife. What I do believe in however is paying it forward. I told you I was on the streets for a year. Someone else decided to take me in, clean me up and give me the life I have today. This is my way of honouring him”

Rudy held out his hand. “Thank you Tim”

Speed shook it and smiled

He came back to the hotel to discover a pale and sweaty Eric on the couch a glass of whiskey in his hand. And judging by the mostly empty bottle on the table, Speed guessed it wasn’t his first or even his third glass. “I’m fine”, Eric mumbled but Speed was sure even he didn’t believe his own words. 

“Wanna talk about it?”, he offered as he walked over to the wardrobe to change into something comfortable, wanting to at least preserve the illusion of normalcy

He had expected a ground out no from Eric but was surprised when he saw the younger man hesitate. “I’m not sure”, he said at last looking up, then winced. “What the hell happened to you”

“Disagreement with another car. And don’t change the subject”

“You all right?” Eric’s question was filled with concern causing Speed to roll his eyes. 

“It’s a bruise. And I told you some idiot hit the SUV”

“You sure Rudy didn’t punch your lights out cos you were usual charming self”

Speed rolled his eyes again. “You’re really funny”, he deadpanned making Eric chuckle. “You’re also not drunk”

“Throwing up twice kinda kills the buzz”

Speed sat down beside the younger man and pulled him closer allowing Eric to snuggle. “Wanna talk about it?”, he whispered

Eric looked hesitant again. “I… Yeah but… I also wanna call H. I really don’t wanna say this more than once”

Speed didn’t immediately comply and instead tried to catch his eye. “Ok”, he agreed at last when Eric refused to cooperate

He wasn’t too surprised when Horatio answered on the first ring. Speed also wasn’t too surprised at the silence when the redhead greeted them but Eric hadn’t factored in the time difference. “Are you home already?”, he asked his uncle making them both chuckle. 

“It’s almost nine there babe”, Speed reminded him

“Wait what how…”. He worked it out a moment later. “Oh yeah we’re on the west coast”

“Hm, hm. That’s right child. Everything ok there?”

Speed gave Eric a look as if to say it’s your show. “Speed and I eloped”. Ok that wasn’t exactly the first thing he had wanted to say, he thought with a wince. 

He heard a snort. “And I am supposed to be surprised by this?”

Eric laughed. Horatio had always known him too well. “Calleigh’s gonna kill us isn’t she?”

“You forgot Alexx”

“You’re not telling her. Neither of you are”, Speed’s voice was firm. “H I mean that”

“Fine. But you gentlemen owe me”. Both of them had horrified looks on their faces. Owing Horatio meant either a gross crime scene or tons of paperwork

“Hey, that’s not fair”, Eric protested. “Speed’s the one that wants Alexx to not know. Not me”

“I thought it was till death do us apart”, Speed quipped the same time as Horatio added, “So I can tell her you had it all planned to the point where you had me get the ring made by my friend Paul”

“Wait what how long have you been planning this?” 

Eric ignored the trace expert in favour of dealing with the more immediate danger. “Um… when you put it that way uncle H… No, I don’t want Alexx to know”. Horatio snorted again making Eric laugh. “You all right?”, he asked his uncle. The redhead sounded like he’d had a long day

Horatio closed his eyes for a minute recalling the latest phone call he had received from his brother. The last couple of weeks in Miami had been hell but if Eric and Speed knew nothing then he knew they’d stayed away from the newspapers. 

“Uncle H”. He’d been silent for too long and now Eric was suspicious. 

“Yeah um, no son. It’s fine. Just a long few days at work”

“Sorry uncle H because of me you’re two CSIs short”

Speed whacked him on his arm causing him to whine. “It’s called vacation time and I’m entitled to it. We should be back next Monday Horatio”

“Yeah that’s great… You guys got Rudy set up yet?” ‘Real smooth change of subject Horatio’, he thought but Eric obliged

“Wait you know Rudy?”

Speed couldn’t help it. He laughed till tears streamed down his eyes. “Ouch wait Eric. Stop ok”, he complained when Eric chose to punch him for his amusement and Horatio was the one laughing now

“Am I going to be receiving a call from the LVPD for disturbing the peace?”

“Funny uncle H, really funny”, Eric deadpanned in a fair imitation of Speed

“Anyway the answer to your question is no. Although Rudy is grateful you made his arrest go away”

“Yeah well his son was an ass-hole”, Eric retorted before Horatio could. “Assault my ass. He deserved more than the broken nose. What kind of a son, and that too a rich one refuses to pay his mother’s medical bills, then gives her a very public funeral just for appearances sake”

Neither of them bothered answering his very rhetorical question. “If I may finish what I wanted to say”, Speed continued with exaggerated politeness. “I finally convinced him to accept my offer and he’s agreed to move to Vegas”

“So you now own a piece of land that’s useless”, Eric commented again causing Horatio to roll his eyes

“If the two of you are done trying to be funny…”

“There’s actually another reason we called”, Eric admitted at last. “I… I went to see the doctor again today and I… How… how did you know… how did you know who it was uncle H”

Not having expected the question Horatio could only freeze


	4. Chapter 4

“Don’t say it”, Ryan Wolfe complained the minute they met him beside the Hummer along with Calleigh. Calleigh’s greeting at least was much better

“You guys have a good trip?”, she asked them giving them both hugs and in Eric’s case a kiss to his cheek

“Yup we had a wonderful time”, Eric said with a wink his message plain making Speed blush. 

“Sounds like we weren’t the only ones who had a good time”, Speed groused staring pointedly at Ryan

“I thought I told you guys not to talk about it”

“Ok as much as I’d love to chat we have a body, in the cemetery. And no, no need to check your ears guys. So let’s just go”

“Only a week in-charge and she’s already bossing me”, Speed muttered out of earshot of Calleigh as Eric laughed

“The FBI considers the Mala Noche the most dangerous crime organization in the United States ladies and gentlemen”

“Trying to scare us Horatio”, Ryan quipped as Horatio continued his description of the Noches

Eric though was more scared at the look on his uncle’s face. Horatio looked like he’d had a horrible three weeks. He came back to himself to hear his uncle say. “Anyone not interested I’ll understand”

Speed snorted, Eric and Ryan gave each other looks. Calleigh though summed it up best for them. “We’re in if you’re in”

Speed and Eric were about to go off on their own investigation when Horatio stopped them. “Oh, I forgot”. He waited for Eric to turn around. “Welcome back”

Eric could only smile

The couple had to admit the new lab looked impressive. Eric whistled. “They did all of this in three weeks”, he asked Calleigh as she walked by. 

“Yup, federal funds”

“You’re kidding me”

Speed though had a bigger concern. “Why the fuck would feds help us?”

“Cos of her”. Ryan pointed out the new addition in DNA. “Natalia Boa Vista. She is or was with the Feds and she only deals with unsolved cases”

Speed decided he didn’t like her at the word fed

“Why are you in trace?”

“And here I thought we worked as a team. What only Ryan’s allowed in here with you?”

“You know what I mean Calleigh”. Speed’s serious demeanor did not go away

“Tim… I…”, she faltered. “I really don’t wanna talk about it”. He decided to let it go for the time being and donned his gloves. “We’ve got someone new in trace by the way”, she announced just as a tech he had never seen before walked in. “Aaron Peters meet Tim Speedle”

“Hey”. He nodded and turned back to the blond. “I was only gone three weeks right?”

The gravity of the situation became painfully clear when Speed and Horatio were shot at. “You’re green lit”

“Which means so are you, Eric and the Delkos”, Horatio finished for him thanking God that at least his brother’s family was out of the country for now

“Me and Delko were always going to be in trouble”

“I’ll… I’ll talk to Pavel, increase the patrols around Little Havana”

“You all right?” Eric rushed him the minute they entered the lab. Speed took one look at his face and dragged him off to his rarely used office. “Tim”, Eric protested as he was manhandled. Speed ignored his complaints

“Is this always going to be like this?”, he asked the younger man instead. Eric turned away frustrated

“So what I’m not allowed to be concerned when you come back from a shootout”

Speed sighed. “I had H and SWAT with me. And my gun’s…”

Eric sighed in turn understanding what Speed was getting at. “This isn’t about your gun Tim”. He patted his chest where his ring hung on a chain and walked away leaving a cursing Speed behind

“How the hell do you manage it?”, Calleigh teased as he met her in trace

“What the fuck do you…”

“Delko’s stomping around which means…”. She stopped at the look on his face. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing what did you get?”

“Tim”

“What did you get?” She hesitated but let him get away with it

“So who broke up with who?”

“Would you stop that”. Marisa slapped her brother’s arm her frustration plain

“What I’m a CSI”, he said with a wink. “I always knew you were dating Ryan”

“No you didn’t, cos you thought Tim gave me flowers”, she shot back accepting the coffee Speed handed her. 

“So…”, he began as well making Marisa aim a kick at his legs which he dodged. “Hey. Watch it”, he protested

“What you deserve it”. She stuck her tongue out at him. 

“Real mature”, Eric muttered still grumpy with Speed

Marisa realised her brother needed a distraction before he bit Speed’s head off. “I couldn’t handle Ryan’s job”, she admitted honestly then laughed at their wide-eyed looks. “Do you guys know what…?”

“Oh yeah the dirty bomb. Trust me we heard”

‘And Hagen’s suicide’, Speed thought still concerned about Calleigh’s switch from ballistics. ‘She has Horatio’, he reassured himself but then again H had looked as if someone had punched his lights out

A snap of fingers near his ear made him jump and he heard Marisa’s clear laughter. Even Eric looked like he was trying not to smile. “Where were you lost?”, the part-Cuban asked him

“Nothing”. His eyes said they’d talk about it later and Eric gave in

“Anyway as fun as this is I have to go”, Marisa said standing up. “I have a job interview”

“You have a what?” Both men looked flabbergasted

“Ha ha”, she retorted. “You know this thing people go to where they ask you a bunch of questions and…”, she trailed off at their looks

“You already have a job”

“Oh yeah, the boring corporate one”

“Marisa”. Even Speed sounded concerned

“Oh man not again. Look will you two stop with the protective older brother shit. And hey, if I were you I’d worry more about what you idiots are going to tell our parents and Alexx when it gets out, you two got married in Vegas”

“You’re not gonna…”, Eric began before stopping at her eye-roll

“As long as you keep the fact that I’m quitting my old job away from dad yes”

“Mari”, Eric protested again but suddenly she exploded

“What you’re the only allowed to follow your dreams is that it? Now that Isa can’t dad wants me to come work for him. And I can’t handle that shit Eric”, she yelled before stopping at the pain on his face. She knew he still blamed himself for Isa. “Look, I’m sorry little brother”, she apologized giving him a hug. “It’s just mami and papi have been on my case recently and I took it out on you”

“It’s fine sis. I’m just… I just worry you know that”

“Yeah well don’t worry too much. You already have too many wrinkles”

She left with another wink and smile at both of them

“You all right?”

Eric’s answer to Speed’s concern was to walk into the study and slam the door shut behind him

The smell of Cuban food drew him out two hours later and he sighed

“I don’t understand how it’s different”, Speed muttered as he heard Eric shuffle in. “But I must have done…”

Eric stopped him with a hug from behind. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I overreacted”, he admitted. “I don’t know how it’s different either, but it’s suddenly much more real and… if I… I can’t lose you”, he finished in a whisper

Speed really wished he could tell Eric he wouldn’t but with what they did for a living their life expectancy was uncertain as hell. And with the Noches and Horatio becoming a target… “You know we could move half-way across the country and live on a farm and I’d still feel this way babe”, Eric said softly coming back to himself. “I’ll learn to handle it Tim. I promise”

Speed really didn’t have an answer for him

“How the hell did you handle it?”, he asked the only person he knew who had been in this situation before

“With Sean?”

“Hm, hm”, he said as he lounged on her couch

“Well… I… I don’t know”, Megan admitted. “Something’s different about you”

“What do you mean?” He cursed mentally wondering how she could’ve figured out he was married. It wasn’t as if they had worn the rings in public yet and the only ones who had seen them so far were Horatio and Marisa. He hesitated but then again she was his friend. ‘And Eric who is already not too happy with you will kill you’. He ignored the whispered voice in his head and instead showed her the chain. Megan’s eyes widened and he saw the happiness on her face before… “If I get a comment from the IAB Lt.”, he warned her and she smiled again.

“Ok fine. As an IAB Lt. I’m worried as hell”

“What did I just say about the IAB Lt. These aren’t legal here Megan”, he reminded her and she rolled her eyes. 

“I’m not gonna say anything Tim, I promise, but to answer your question, well not working on the same team helped. I couldn’t see him in danger every day and…”. She stopped. The one time she had known he was in trouble there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it

“Megan I…”. She waved off what was going to be an apology. 

“It won’t be easy and I know you can’t see Eric’s concern now but someday it’ll hit you as well. Sean was worse than me”, she added with a soft smile and a faraway look on her face

“So Tyler quit?”, Eric asked Horatio curiously as he lay down on the couch using the redhead as his pillow.

“Hm, hm. Yes”, Horatio agreed running a hand through his son’s hair absent-mindedly

“Why?”

“May I ask why you are so interested in Mr. Jensen’s life?”

He chuckled. “Ok, but you can’t tell Tim, but when we broke up I had this weird paranoia that he and Tyler were together. What?”, he added at the flabbergasted look on Horatio’s face. “Speed spent a lot of time in that lab. And aunt Yelina and Ray?”, he asked his uncle at last

“They… um… they had to move”

“Can I ask why?”

“Um… the bomb… Ray knew about it… It was someone who had… who had ruined his career. They kidnapped Ray Jr. and… well if they had lived here their lives would always be in danger”

“So they’re in witness protection”, Eric asked him stunned as he sat up

“Um… no… I… Ray and I… someone owed us a favour”

“So you know where he is?”

“I can’t tell you son. I’m sorry”, Horatio apologized knowing Eric was really close to Yelina and was going to miss her

“It’s… um”. Eric swallowed his disappointment. “It’s fine uncle H… It’s for their safety right”. Then another thought stuck him but before he could voice it Horatio had the answer

“Susie and Madison are fine Eric. I promise. Most people still believe Madison’s my daughter, except of course for a certain CSI who was told this information mysteriously”

Eric laughed. “What I didn’t tell her when you told me. I did it after the hospital. Madison’s fine right?”, he asked his uncle his concern plain. He had grown really close to the little girl during the month he had been in and out of the hospital

“She’s not just fine Eric, she’s thriving. She’s going to school now”. The pride in Horatio’s voice was unmistakable. “And Susie is working as an intern in a law firm”

“How the hell did you pull this… Tim”

“Hm, hm. Speed it turns out has a lot more friends than he’d like us to believe”

“Oh yeah the lawyer who was in school with him. I met the guy once”. His tone made Horatio laugh

“I would imagine given your… extra curricular activities at one point of time in your life Speed should be the one jealous”

“Uncle H. You’re not helping”. He changed the subject. “What about you and that certain CSI anyway?”

Horatio didn’t blush as he expected him to. “You heard about Hagen?”, he asked the younger man instead

“Yeah, I… I heard she quit ballistics”. Horatio hesitated before he shared what Calleigh had asked him to do. 

Eric swallowed again willing his stomach to settle. “So you… you held a gun to her… guns to her…” Horatio’s face which was already pale turned several shades lighter. “I’m sorry uncle H”, Eric whispered giving him a hug

“Me too”, he whispered. “Me too”


	5. Chapter 5

“Do you know what we’re doing here?”, Alexx asked Calleigh as they got out of the blond’s vehicle at the Delko family house

“Not a clue”, Calleigh admitted just as the door was opened by Marisa

“Hey Alexx, Calleigh”. She gave both women a hug. “Oh c’mon”, she added at the look on the M.E.’s face. “I didn’t mean to break his heart”

“I know sugar. It’s just he’s become my baby too and he’s hurting”

For a second a flicker of guilt and pain appeared on Marisa’s face before she laughed it away. “He’ll be fine Alexx. I promise”. Apparently she hadn’t been as successful in concealing her emotions because Alexx’s “Hm, hm”, was so loaded she could only gulp

“Hey guys”

“Ryan?” To say both women were surprised to see him was an understatement. “What are you doing here?”

“C’mon Cal”, Ryan protested. “I’d like to think I’m a friend of Speedle’s and Delko’s”

“Says who?”

“Ha ha Delko. You’re so funny you should have your own channel”

“That’s what I keep telling him”, Speed muttered as he gave Alexx a hug. “I’m not saying anything till everyone gets here”, he added before Calleigh could even open her mouth

“Fine”, she mumbled but hugged him anyway making him jump. Eric couldn’t help but laugh at the scene

“Ok, out with it”, Pavel ordered. “What did both you idiots do”

Marisa laughed at the expression on Speed’s face. “Ah Tim”, she said sweetly pretending to wipe fake tears from her eyes. “Now you know you’re really part of the family”

Horatio clearing his throat had them turning serious. The couple glanced at each other for a second before Eric showed them all his left hand. Speed reluctantly followed suit. The only one excited seemed to be Ryan but even he who had been known to be clueless at times kept his mouth shut as he felt the tension in the air rise.

“Do you expect us to congratulate you?” Eric didn’t exactly cringe at Pavel’s sarcasm; he had been expecting it after all

“Can I ask why?” Alexx sounded hurt making Speed turn away

“It’s not him Alexx”. Eric jumped to his defense. “I wanted us to do this. And we all know Speed won’t tell me no if I want something”, he tried joking but it fell flat

“So what, you told us the engagement was new and everything but now what. Now what’s your excuse? Why would you hide this from us?” Calleigh sounded close to tears. “And you”, she suddenly rounded on Horatio. “You knew about this didn’t you”

Horatio’s glare stopped Pavel from making another sarcastic comment. He nodded at his son when Eric looked to him

“I told H. He helped me get the ring”, Eric admitted reluctantly. He hadn’t wanted to bring Horatio into this but knew no one was going to believe the redhead hadn’t known about this

“But of course”, Pavel said at last. “You always do what you want. When have you not?”

“That’s not true papi”, Eric tried protesting but stopped at the look on his mother’s and sisters’ faces

“Ma”, Marisa tried defending him as well before most of the room including Calleigh glared at her. “Yes I knew about this. No, I didn’t know before. I only found out last Saturday when they… Oops”

“We thought you came back only on Monday. Is that why you haven’t been to church last two weeks because you didn’t want to tell us”, Carmen questioned at last her voice filled with pain

“Ma, no. I did want to tell you guys. I didn’t mean to hide us getting married in the first place…”

“You have family”, Isa said speaking to him for the first time since that day at the movies. “And I know I haven’t treated you well these last couple of years, but what about the rest of them. Why the hell would you punish them?”. Eric turned away tears in his eyes and Speed not caring about his audience simply hugged him.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you. Any of you”, he said at last still in Speed’s arms. “It’s just that I… we needed to go to Vegas for something else anyway and I just… I just wanted this, that’s all”

“Why the hell couldn’t you have done this here then?”, his dad protested

“I wouldn’t have ever gotten married here”, Eric exploded at last his own temper getting the better of him. He moved away from Speed’s arms

“What so now you are going to say it is not legal here and will affect your jobs. It is not legal in Vegas either”, his dad countered

“It’s not a question of legality Pavel”, Speed said. “Look I didn’t wanna do this when Eric told me what his plan was either but… You guys are Catholic”. He stopped Eric from speaking. “I thought they were my family too”, he reminded the younger man who reluctantly turned away. “Look guys, here, we couldn’t have gotten married in a church even if we wanted it. The world isn’t ready for that and it would’ve broken both your hearts”. He pointed to the Delko parents

“Do you think we would not have given up church for…”, Carmen trailed off as she realised their point

“Exactly Carmen. Eric and I decided to do this somewhere else because we didn’t want you to choose. As much as I don’t understand and I never will I have come to accept that religion is important to you”

“Not as important as Eric”, Pavel retorted. “Nothing to us is as Eric”

“You think I don’t know that? Why the hell do you think I didn’t want you to choose. Because I know exactly what you would’ve done. And then when word gets out you attended the wedding of your son who got married to another man, then what. I know you guys are already getting slack from the rest of the community, heck some of ma’s family even. That would’ve only gotten worse”

“We could’ve handled it”, his mother protested. “Eric what you did… you took our choice away from us”

Eric’s look at his mother was pointed making her stop. They both knew she hardly had a leg to stand on when it came to secrets in the family. He turned to his friends from the lab mostly Alexx. “Look guys. I…” He didn’t have an excuse for them. “I am sorry ok I… I could’ve told you…” Speed stopped him again and Alexx knew what he would say. She turned away. 

“I thought we were family”, Calleigh whispered. 

Eric rushed to her side. “We are Cal, you know that”. He tried to hug her but she stepped away. “Cal please”, he begged but she backed off. She knew she needed to get away.

“I… I promised my dad I’d have lunch with him so… I have to go… I’ll see you all at the lab”. Ignoring Eric’s call she practically ran out of there

“Can you give me a ride Ryan?”, Alexx asked the younger CSI ignoring Speed and Eric as well.

Ryan hesitated but nodded. He clapped Eric on the arm and smiled at Speed. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow”, he told them both softly before leaving as well. Speed turned away tears in his eyes

“Mami, papi, c’mon”, Ariessa defended them. “Eric and Speed they explained their reasons and anyway me, Santi and Mari have done worse remember”

“Hey”, Marisa protested. “You and your hubby may have, I haven’t”. Eric wanted to retort but he knew Mari would kill him if he let that cat out of the bag

“Fine”, Pavel agreed reluctantly knowing he had no choice. “What’s done is done. Now can we at least celebrate this or is that forbidden as well”. The smile on his face took the sting out of his words

“Why did you have to go to Vegas?” Isa asked Eric 

“What?”

“You said you guys had to go to Vegas. I am assuming it’s not a case. So why?”

“How do you know it’s not…”, Eric tried deflecting before he shut up. The dirty bomb thanks to Ryan’s big mouth had been too wildly publicized

“I sent them both…”

“Don’t uncle H it’s fine. Ryan made sure we couldn’t lie. Look I…”

“Babe”. Speed stopped him turning him around so Eric could face him. Whatever he saw in his eyes had him convinced Eric wasn’t backing off. “Fine”, he muttered. “Eric and I went there because his shrink told us there might be a way to recover his memories of the attack”

The family took this news worse than the announcement that they had gotten married

“And did you?”, Santi his brother-in-law the only who seemed capable of speech asked him but even he sounded scared as his eyes darted to Pavel. It seemed he was along with the rest of them waiting for another explosion from the formidable Russian

“Some of it”, Eric admitted and Santi’s eyes widened.

One look at his dad though and Eric realised he had misjudged the situation. Pavel didn’t look mad. He looked sad. Eric turned away unable to face him. “Why my son?” His voice was small. “Why do you insist on taking all of the hurt on you for our mistakes”

“You mean my mistakes”, Isa corrected her father. “I was the one who sent you to that monster’s house in the first place”

Eric’s laugh was bitter. “And I was the one who forgot. If I had remembered Jack would be here with us. At least he’d have been on my side”

“He would’ve”, Isa agreed. “He always understood you better than I did”

“Blaming each other isn’t going to help anyone”, Horatio reminded them

“You are right”. Carmen smiled. “My baby has settled down”, she added with a pointed look at Marisa who grumbled under her breath about younger brothers who were showing off. “And Pavel is right too, we must celebrate this. So how about we do this in three weeks from now? You two will then have had enough time to woo the two upset ladies”, she added at their questioning looks

“Three weeks to turn Calleigh and Alexx around?” Eric sounded horrified at the very prospect. “Can’t you just order them to accept this?”, he begged Horatio and even Speed looked like he was considering Eric’s moronic suggestion

“Alexx does not work for me”, Horatio informed his son in a long-suffering tone. “And even if I could order Calleigh, I have a healthy sense of self-preservation. As I have told you many times gentlemen she is a better shot than me”

“We’re doomed”, Speed muttered

“Yes you are”, Marisa agreed happily making him roll his eyes


	6. Chapter 6

His phone ringing stopped JJ’s presentation as the entire team including the newly reinstated Gideon turned towards him. His phone never rang at work unless it was one of them and all of them including Garcia were already there. 

Luke rolled his eyes especially pointedly at the two blonds who looked at his phone like they’d never seen it before. All he did was turn of the ringer. “Sorry JJ. If you could please continue”. The level of sarcasm in his voice would’ve shamed even Speed

“Something you wanna…”

“Nope. Nothing at all except we’re getting late. Hotch said twenty minutes”. He practically ran away from the conference room and the laughing liaison

“Hey you wanna talk about it?”, she asked him much more seriously this time. 

Luke hesitated. “I’m not cheating on you”, was what he settled on at last but she didn’t take the bait

“You know you can tell me anything right?”, she asked him and he nodded but didn’t share what was on his mind. She gave up and told him Hotch wanted him at a crime scene

He turned up at her apartment with a six-pack three days later. “The phone call”, he began reluctantly knowing he had been deliberately shutting her out

“You don’t have to tell me Luke”, JJ stopped him giving him a way out

“It was from my friend Phil”, he continued and she settled down beside him. “He… he told me… my twin brother… He got married last month. Phil just found out himself”

Questions exploded in JJ’s mind. Luke had siblings… Twin… “You all right?”, was what she asked him in the end

“It’s fine Jayje. I know you’re curious. Heck I would be if you told me something like this”, he deflected. “I found out about him three years ago. His boyfriend… husband… he has this… she’s a friend of mine and she told me”

She saw the problem. “You were undercover”

“Yes”. He waited for the question and she didn’t disappoint

“You never contacted him even after that”

“I have a feeling he wouldn’t want to see me even if I did”. He told her about Shannon Walsh and the murder. 

“Yeah but even then…”

“He’s adopted too Jayje. His birth certificate… It’s wrong and… He doesn’t know unlike me and I didn’t wanna… When I discovered I was adopted, it’s as if a part of me… was lost, and I’m still searching for it. I don’t want him to go through that. So what if he has to live a lie?”

“Knowing the truth no matter how much it hurts is always better Luke. You know this”

“No it’s not… You wanna know why my mom gave me up?” She had a feeling she didn’t want to but nodded anyway. “Because she was getting away from her husband who was a monster. My nana told me he beat her. She saw these bruises on her once and… she told her it was easier running with one child but she must have given him up too”

“I’m sorry Luke”

“Don’t be Jayje. You didn’t know. Like I keep saying he is better off without me”

“That’s bull”. She couldn’t help but defend him even from himself. “There is no way he would be better without a brother like you. I know you Luke. Anyone would be lucky to call you family”

Luke’s smile was sad. “Then you don’t know me that well because I was happy to let him take the hook for her murder. I could’ve stopped the entire investigation with one phone call but I didn’t. In the end it was Phil who found out Eric even had an alibi”

“Is that his name?”

“What? Yeah, Eric. His name’s Eric Delko. He married his longtime boyfriend Tim Speedle. They work together”

“Speedle… Why the hell is that name so familiar?”

He laughed. “Cos he’s one of the country’s top forensic experts”

“Oh yeah he works in Miami-Dade. He gave a lecture here at a forensic conference not too long ago. That lab has a bunch of talented people and the head of their unit Horatio Caine is brilliant, but he hates Feds or really any other agency”

“So we’ve never gotten a call from him”

She snorted. “Nope. And we won’t either. Not even if the local Feds step in. Horatio Caine does not like sharing”. She shook her head getting back to what she wanted to say. “Look Luke I… I may not have known what happened with Shannon Walsh but you’re wrong about one thing, I do know you. And no matter what you say I know you would’ve found some way to help him out if he was really in trouble”

“I wish I could believe that”

“I thought I made it clear I never wanted to see you”, Eric’s biting greeting had Marisol step back involuntarily even if she had expected it

“I… I know”, she managed to stutter out. “I’m not… I’m not here to bother you. I promise. I just… um… Five minutes”, she begged at last. “Please just give me five minutes and even if after that… I won’t come back here again Eric…”, she promised knowing for once that she could keep it. She didn’t have long after all and she didn’t see her son forgiving her transgressions in the short time that she did have

Eric hesitated but then she was family. He let her in. “Would you like some coffee?”, he asked her just to be polite making her smile. Her sister had raised him well

“Café Cubano if you have it”, she requested and he chuckled. She couldn’t help it. It was her guilty pleasure just like the rest of her family

He waited till they both had their coffees. “What can I do for you?”

“This is um… awkward to say the least but… I wanted to apologise Eric, for the way I’ve… I’ve treated both you and Officer Speedle. I… I know I can never make up for my behavior, but I… all I can say is I am sorry. I know it’s not enough”, she added quickly at the look on his face. “But I… I don’t have anything else to offer so…”. She stood up. “Thanks for the coffee and…”

“Why’d you leave him?”, Eric’s question interrupted her blabbering

“I think we both know the answer to that”, was what she said after a minute of silence

“So you’re saying Ray Caine is right. He told me you didn’t wanna be a mom. Is that why you left my uncle?”

“No”. Her answer was defensive and she knew it. “Ray didn’t know what it was like”, she shot back. She seemed to have a temper as well. “When Billy was born” - she didn’t want to talk about him in the third person but she had no choice. “I was happy but I… I was scared to death. Do you know that Horatio had been shot at twice by then? Or did you know that they had come into our house. They broke all my furniture. I was seven months pregnant and… they put bruises on me”. Eric looked at her horrified. “I know you think I’m lying but why don’t you ask Horatio this?” She turned away hugging herself. “So yes I ran. Trust me when I say I wanted to take Billy and run too but your dad would have never let me”

“What does pops have to do with this?” Eric was the one defensive now and Marisol was suddenly glad he couldn’t see the look on her face. She had slipped without even realizing it. 

“Pavel and Horatio were thick as thieves back then. He would’ve chased me just as much as your uncle would’ve”, she fibbed

“Yeah but they wouldn’t have hurt you”. Eric couldn’t help but defend his family

“Maybe not”, she conceded. The argument was taking a lot out of her and she couldn’t let Eric see her like this. “Look I… that’s in the past and I just… maybe someday if we did meet in some distant future, I didn’t want you to… I was hoping we could at least be pleasant to each other. That’s the only reason…”

“So you’re running again”

“Are you really telling me you want me in Horatio’s life”. Even she was aware of his attempts to set her former husband up with Calleigh. Eric was the one to turn away this time. “Didn’t think so. I’ll see you around Eric”

“Is she right?”. Eric hadn’t wanted to bring this up with Horatio. Heck he hadn’t wanted to tell his uncle he’d seen her but her words were ringing in his ears. “Did they… did whoever you were chasing hurt her?”

Horatio nodded reluctantly. “That’s… that’s one of the reasons Pavel didn’t want you to become a cop. Because he was the one to find her”

“But… but why would they hurt her I mean…”. He stopped. He wasn’t so naïve as to not understand. “So that’s why you don’t blame her”

“I don’t blame her Eric, because all of it… everything that happened is my fault. She was right to leave me”

Eric’s look was just as pitying as his brother’s had been. “Ray’s right uncle H. You need to cut yourself some slack”

Horatio’s chuckle was bitter. “You don’t know what you’re talking about child”

“Maybe not”, he conceded. “But I do know you and I know you would’ve done whatever you could to fix it”

Horatio didn’t answer but then again he hadn’t been expecting one


	7. Chapter 7

This time it took him two weeks to cave and he turned up on her doorstep armed with a bottle of wine, some flowers, a huge grin and his very scared husband by his side

“Those don’t work on me honey”, Alexx retorted but let them both in anyway

“C’mon Alexx. Speed told me you love flowers”

“Leave me out of it”, Speed muttered rubbing the back of his neck and ignored Eric’s whispered “Traitor”

Alexx let them both stew for a few minutes as she made them tea. “Sit”, she instructed and Eric hastened to obey and dragged Speed with him

“Delko”, Speed complained as he almost fell into Eric’s lap

Alexx was struggling not to laugh

“You know I never meant to hurt you right?”, Eric asked her at last reluctantly turning the mood serious. After two weeks of seeing Speed come back from autopsy with a hurt look on his face he knew he had no choice but to fix the mess he had created

“Why did you then? And don’t tell me it was your religion honey”

“It wasn’t Eric’s decision. It was mine”. She had a feeling it had been. This time both of them ignored Eric when he tried to defend Speed. “He couldn’t have his family with him there Alexx and I didn’t feel right inviting you. Heck even H didn’t come and he actually knew”. She turned her head away mostly because she knew he was right. But that didn’t mean it hurt any less

“Alexx that’s not why…”

“Stop baby”, she interrupted when Eric tried defending Speed again. “This is between me and Timmy”

“That doesn’t mean I have to like it when he gets hurt”, he shot back

“She’s right babe. She’s my…”

“I thought she was my family too”. 

Alexx sighed. Eric and Speed had made a choice and even if it was something she didn’t like she knew she would respect it. “Ok”, she said at last albeit still upset. “I forgive you”

“No you don’t”. Speed knew her too well. “Look I know it’s gonna take time but…”

“You’re right. It hurts like hell that I couldn’t be there”, she admitted and watched as a look of pain flashed across her son’s face. He stood up. “Timmy wait”. She knew if she let him go like this then she wouldn’t see him for a while. He always ran when he was hurt

“Look Alexx. I get it. I can’t fix this. I can’t turn back time and take you there with me…”

“If it helps there is a taped version”. Eric tried to lighten the mood again then backed off with his hands raised when both of them glared at him

She gave in again and hugged him this time. “I’m not perfect remember”, Speed whispered

“And if you guys really want it we can go through the whole shit again”, Eric offered completely serious. “Heck I’m actually sure that’s what my parents are planning and this whole party thing is simply an excuse”. Speed saw Alexx back up and swore

“Seriously?”

“What? I want to see my baby get married. So did Pavel, Carmen and Horatio. Even Calleigh’s in on it if it makes you feel better”

“So that’s why we haven’t been shot yet”, Eric realised. “What?”, he added at the two raised eyebrows. 

“If you’re so scared of her honey then why the hell are you trying to meddle?”

“Cos I knew before all of you did that she happens to like uncle H”, he retorted smugly

Alexx looked at him like he had lost his mind. “Eric honey how many women have you dated”

“No”, Speed said before Eric could answer. “We’ll be here the whole day so no way”

Eric opened his mouth but shut it quickly when he realised Speed was right. He winked at Alexx instead. “I really don’t wanna make Speed jealous”. Speed’s fake cough sounded suspiciously like “Tyler Jensen” 

Alexx laughed at them both again. Stupid hurtful decisions or not they were her kids and she loved them

“Please tell me Alexx was kidding”, Speed begged Calleigh as he stepped into the trace lab. 

“I have no idea of what you’re talking about”

“Please tell me you’re not going overboard with the whole shit”

“I have no idea of what you’re talking about”, she repeated but the grin on her face told him she was enjoying this way too much

“I can’t believe you were in on this too”, Eric accused Ryan as he drove them to their crime scene

“What? Calleigh asked me to help and it’s not as if you can say no to her”

“So what the hell have they got planned anyway?”

Ryan looked at him for a second. “You’re not as scary as her”

They tried Horatio next. “No”, was all he said when he found them in his living room. 

“Uncle H, c’mon”, Eric whined. “Can’t we just play them the tape. Catherine Willows is on it”, he added then ducked the cushion Horatio threw at him

“You had to open your stupid mouth”, Speed muttered

“Have I told you how much I hate your transfer to the Miami field office”, Luke commented as Phil updated him further on Eric’s life

“Only about a hundred times. Look man the wedding thing’s actually happening. One of the techs there she’s a former fed and she’s been giving my boss info on the lab. Don’t ask me why cos I don’t know and it’s not my business”. His voice turned serious. “Look the point is if you really wanted to see it…”

“And tell them what if I get caught, which I’m bound to considering the fact that he looks exactly like me”

“You could go under a veil”, Phil tried joking then stopped. “He looks exactly like you because he’s your brother Luke”

“Yeah and like I’ve told you about a hundred times before…”

“He’s better off without you, yeah I know you keep saying that but even you don’t believe it. And you want a family. You always have”

“Stay out of it Phil”. He hung up before Phil could retort


	8. Chapter 8

“What the hell are you doing here?” Eric’s accusing voice had Marisol jumping as she walked out of the hospital room she’d been in

“Eric, what are you…?”

“I know someone here”, Eric answered before she could finish her question. “What about you?”

“Oh…I… I came here to visit… an old friend”. His eyes told her she was lying even if he didn’t verbalise it

“Ms. Caine”. The nurse caught up to her then realised she was with someone. 

“I have to go”. He backed off and walked away

He waited for her on the outside. He felt bad spying on her like this but she had clearly been lying and he didn’t trust her. She walked out looking pale and sweaty and held onto a car parked in the lot for support before she waved a taxi over. Eric got into his Buick, tailed her to an apartment complex and waited till she had gone in. He found the name on the buzzer: Marisol Caine. So she was still using his uncle’s name

It didn’t take him long to charm someone to let him in and he knocked on her door. Her eyes widened when she saw exactly who it was. “Can I come in?”, he asked her just to be polite. She moved aside mutely mostly from shock but her anger was coming back. She hadn’t told anyone where she lived and there was only one way he could’ve known. He must have followed her from the hospital. Just like his father she thought bitterly before she turned around but then realised she had left the meds from the hospital out. She had been sorting them when he had barged in

“You’re sick”. His eyes had closed and he looked pained. “Why didn’t you tell anyone. Mami thought you left town”

I am your mother dammit she wanted to yell. She hadn’t realised how much it would hurt to hear him refer to someone else by that title and wondered how in the hell her ex-husband handled it. 

“Why did you lie to her? Heck when you came over you implied you were leaving”

“Because I didn’t want any of you to know”, she admitted in a whisper. “I didn’t want you to find out…”, she trailed off. She had been about to say till I died but he didn’t need to hear that. She saw him pick up one of her meds. “Those are private Eric”, she warned him but of course he ignored her and instead snapped a picture of it with his phone. “Eric wait”. She knew where he’d go. “If you tell him I swear to God…”

He stopped but knew she didn’t have anything to threaten him with. She hadn’t wanted to tell him but she had no choice. He would take this to Horatio and she didn’t want his pity. “I have a few months left”, she emphasized each word. “If you tell Horatio I will not even have that”. Her message was plain and his eyes widened. “Cancer”, she answered his unasked question. “I was at the hospital for a chemo session”. She sat down. She simply didn’t have the energy anymore

“Who is it this time?”, Speed asked from the door to the kitchen making a tired Eric look up

“What?”

“Who is it that’s got your bleeding stupid heart all bothered?”

Eric desperately wanted to confess but Marisol had made him promise and he didn’t know what to do. He knew he didn’t owe her anything but she had made it plain that she didn’t want any of their charity. The only reason she had even let Eric help was because of his promise and a lot of blackmail. “I can’t tell you”, he whispered at last not bothering to deny the accusation. It was Speed’s turn to walk away

Unlike Speed, Eric couldn’t cook well enough. But he could always pay extra attention and beg and make those doe eyes, so he did. And it worked for a while. Speed knew he was being an idiot but didn’t bother calling him out on it. But then another problem arose. Eric discovered that Marisol’s insurance wasn’t covering her chemo and that she was broke. And slowly so was he.

Speed never noticed who got the groceries or who paid the bills. Eric did it anyway because Speed was notorious at forgetting things like this. Their pay cheques were going into an account in both their names for a while now. And though Eric tried to stick to his salary he knew he was depleting all of their funds. Still with a little creative accounting and some money they had saved over time, he might have gotten away with it; if not for the marijuana and the fact that he had clearly forgotten the cheque he’d given Ryan. The only good thing about that – and boy wasn’t someone up there laughing their ass off – was Horatio’s friend dying

“Wait Horatio’s a suspect”, he had asked Speed disbelievingly.

“Yes”. Speed’s answer had been short. “According to his statement he knew her and he’d been having dinner with her the night she was killed”

“Yeah but Tim…”

“Don’t even start Cal. I know he didn’t kill anyone. He’s being set up so let’s just prove it”

He told Speed his theory about the car and got the go ahead to run with it but when he had asked his uncle who had been setting him up the answer had been cryptic at best

“They used a spike strip”

“Hm, hm. And just so you know H knows who it is”, he added but Speed didn’t look too surprised

“Course he does”, he muttered. “You’re going to keep him updated aren’t you?”

“Are you going to order me not to?”

“Would you follow it if I did?”, Speed retorted but then relented at the conflicted look on his face. Eric loved him but he loved Horatio too much as well. “Look, let’s just… let’s just make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid”

Ryan brought up the cheque and for a second all Eric could think was thank God he didn’t go to Speed

“Horatio’s a suspect in a murder investigation and you’re hawking me about a cheque”. He wasn’t even kidding about being angry. For once he knew exactly what H was going through because he had been in his shoes not too long ago. “I’ll take care of it ok”, he placated the worried CSI before turning their attention back to the case

“A Hummer and before you ask I followed up on it and told H about it”. There was silence at the other end of the line. “Tim I couldn’t just not tell him. Even Tripp suspects him and I know what it feels like to be on the other end. You don’t”

“Fine. I’ll take care of it”

Calleigh gave Speed the first good news of the case. “The blood was planted?”

“Hm, hm. Yes. I found a preservative”

“Fine. Ask him about it and for God’s sake please find something”

“Walter Resden. He’s been storing Horatio’s blood for about fifteen years now”

“Wonderful”, Speed muttered. “Isn’t he the serial killer. So this is revenge”

“Yes. And this file came through our morgue. Tripp chased it back to a detective but his badge was lost”

“So that’s a dead end”

“Nope”, Eric answered from behind him. “Cos we got the guy’s car”. He had Speed’s kit in his hand and was smiling for the first time that day. “Wanna help”

It was Calleigh who would keep H in the loop this time. Speed gave up trying to order the problem away and dragged Eric off to damage control, but he found Stetler there before him; along with Horatio, the murder scene and the bloody knife

“You wanna arrest him or am I doing it?”, was the only thing the sergeant asked him. 

“It’s protocol Speed”, Horatio added but Eric looked like he couldn’t believe what was happening. 

“He’s not going into a holding cell”, was Speed’s response while he led Horatio away and ordered Eric to process the damn room

“What the fuck were you thinking”, he yelled not even caring the man was his boss. 

“I was thinking Walter was setting me up”, Horatio responded calmly. Speed’s temper worsened. At least until Horatio held out his hands. 

“You’ve got his blood”

“Hm, hm. I managed to get a clean hit in”

“I’m getting this to DNA, I’m processing it. For once you’re staying put or I will throw you in a holding cell. Or worse let Calleigh be your second-in-command and see how she likes it”

Horatio let him rant and hid a smile

“Speed”, Ryan hailed him in the corridors when he was about to ask Valera for an update.

“What?” The younger CSI backed up at the growl he heard in his voice. “What?” Speed repeated but Ryan looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here telling him anything but this

“I can’t find Delko”

Speed swore. “He has a damn phone. Call him”

Eric found the forged print eventually. He knew Ryan had already given him hell so he let Eric get his boss out while he had Calleigh charm Natalia for open cases. Now he knew why Horatio coordinated so much and he was starting to actually enjoy it

It was a disbelieving Speed who came out of Ratner’s office. Horatio took one look at his face and went in himself but Ratner was even worse with him.

“So Resden’s loose”

“Hm, hm”, Horatio agreed. “I… I owe you an apolo…”

Speed waved him off. “We all have ghosts in our past H”. He managed a smile. “Yeah it would have been nice to know. But you were trying to protect someone. Let’s just hope we can keep Jenifer Wilson safe”

Horatio moved on to their other concern. “Did you find out what he’s been up to?”

“No. Believe me I have asked. He’s starting to screw up again”. Speed had no problems going to Horatio with this because as he had told Eric before, it was also about the lab

Horatio pinched the bridge of his nose. “Ok do me a favour and take over if he…”. Speed gave him a look that told him he’d already been on it for a while. “If you find anything…”. He didn’t bother finishing that sentence as well when Speed rolled his eyes

“New York again”

“Yes”

“Need some help?”

“Are you volunteering?”

Speed thought about his answer. “Why the hell not? Cos if I have to listen to any more of his excuses I’m gonna snap”

Horatio sighed. “What did he do this time?”

“Nothing at the lab H”, Speed told him with a small smile. “It’s personal”, he added. “He’s been using money like it’s water”, he gave in finally and Horatio’s eyes widened

“What the hell?”, Speed muttered as he saw the process server tag Horatio. When Bonasera offered a union lawyer though his boss declined making him wonder what the hell this was about. He knew very little about Horatio’s past but he did know Horatio was from New York and had spent his initial years with the NYPD. He waited till Bonasera had walked away. 

Horatio sighed but explained about his parents. He had a feeling Speed would really make Calleigh run the lab if he didn’t give him something. 

“I know a lawyer who can help”, was all he said. Horatio hesitated but nodded

“So you can come back with me?”

“Yup, no open warrants for my…”. A knock interrupted his sentence and Speed opened the door to find a furious Stetler at the other end. “Ric”, Horatio greeted him with a smile and he wondered if his boss would get his lights punched out. The man could be really annoying at times

Stetler didn’t even mind that Speed was in the room as he called Horatio all kinds of stupid. Speed for once couldn’t blame him

The final straw for Horatio at least came when Ryan was shot in the eye. 

“I’ve got some things going on”

“We all do Eric”. He benched Eric for the rest of the case. 

He’d been useless at the scene so he decided to get Marisol to the hospital but of course Calleigh would spot him. At least she hadn’t had a clear view of Marisol’s face. Just her profile as she walked away. And of course she thought he had something going on with her. Three years in a relationship with the man he loved and people still thought he was capable of cheating on him

“Before I lose my job?”

“Before you lose respect”

That hurt him. Badly

“Calleigh told you?”, he asked Speed in disbelief later that night

Speed sighed. He had come home to reassure Eric, not raise his hackles

“I don’t care what she saw”, he told the younger man giving him a hug. “I know you Eric. You’d never cheat on me”

Eric humbled by Speed’s trust in him really wished he could tell him about Marisol

He was a young red-blooded male and he couldn’t help but stare at the… beautiful woman in front of him. Even Alexx and her husband after all these years of marriage had a look don’t touch rule and he knew Speed would understand. He’d only been staring, hadn’t even thought about asking her for her number. Not for more than a few seconds anyway…

“Have a nice day”

“I’ll do that”, he responded as he turned around once more to stare as she walked away. And boy could she walk. After that sight… “Definitely”, he decided as he inserted his card

His nice day barely lasted a minute as the ATM swallowed his card

Insufficient funds. 

No matter the fact that he hit it the machine refused to change the message. He had depleted his balance. Again. 

Speed was going to kill him

“Your machine ate my card”, he protested and heard in disbelief as the manager informed him his checking account was overdrawn. He had just received a pay cheque. Which meant Speed had as well. His husband was definitely going to kill him

The gunfire started and he forgot about their money problems. If he didn’t deal with these robbers they would be the ones finishing him off. He ducked behind a counter and watched the guard get shot. The robbers sprayed the counter with automatic weapons and he knew he was outgunned. Announcing himself would only get him a bullet and he kept his head down even when the bank manager was kidnapped. 

That was of course till they attempted a rape. That he couldn’t have sat back and watched. He had three sisters

Praying to God to keep him alive he took a deep breath before… “Miami-Dade PD”. His shot was perfect. One shot, one kill. The robber went down his weapon triggering automatically the resulting gun fire harmless to anyone. But of course the others spotted him and he ducked again feeling the heat of the bullets all around him

And then the teller fell and his first thought was why. She hadn’t been anywhere close to him. She needn’t have died

He moved the minute he heard the robbers run away. Ran over to her and applied pressure begging her to hold on. “Stay with me”, he begged and watched her close her eyes instead

He sat back defeated.

Speed finally understood what Eric meant when he heard the call for the bank robbery. He found Eric beside a young woman her blood on his hands. His heart which he swore had stopped till then beat double time. “I killed someone again”, Eric whispered. Speed not minding the blood one bit just held him close

Horatio benched him again this time because he was a material witness and he swore he hated this month

His month turned worse as he saw the robber aim his gun at Natalia and was for once really glad he was packing inside the lab. He took out one of the robbers as Horatio went after another one. And of course his was a kill shot. Again. 

He had to hand Stetler his gun a second time that day.

Stetler hesitated knowing there wasn’t much he could say. This was only the third time Eric had shot someone and each time some of the innocence left his godson’s face. He really wished Eric had gone into some other line of work

“You all right”

“I keep seeing their faces”, he admitted as Speed walked into the kitchen. Speed sat down beside him pulled him in closer and kissed his cheek

“I get it now”, he whispered

“Has Eric’s behavior changed recently?”

“What”, was the only thing Speed could answer at Horatio’s question. “What the hell do you mean?”

“Has it?”

“H. Can you please tell me what’s going on?”

“I haven’t had a chance to see him in a couple of months outside the job Tim. He hasn’t been coming home”

“I told you he’s been helping someone”

“Or helping himself to something”. Speed was fast losing his patience with Horatio’s cryptic answers. “Johny Nixon?”

“The suspect you and Tripp arrested this morning?”

“Do you know him?”

“Never heard the name before”

“Did you find out why he’s been spending all that money”

He made the connection fast. Their ‘victim’ had been a drug lord. “Eric does not do drugs”

“You cannot…”

“Yes I can. I don’t care what this man says. Eric’s not doing drugs”

“He told me he sold marijuana to Eric. He has Eric’s personal number”

Speed’s eyes widened but his faith in Eric remained. “Eric does not do drugs”, he repeated. “And I wouldn’t tell him you thought so. It’d kill him. And he’s already been judged enough”, he added thinking of Calleigh’s subtle insinuation that Eric may have been cheating on him

“Evidence doesn’t lie Speed”

“You don’t have evidence. You have the word of a drug-dealing scum bag. Now are you clearing his name or am I getting him a lawyer”

“Now we have evidence”, was all Horatio said as Stetler ranted about Eric popping positive for HCG. 

“That’s a…”

“Key ingredient in marijuana. I’m aware”, Speed retorted before the sergeant could complete his sentence but the IAB man had worse news to deliver

“Someone’s taken this to the SA”

“We need to know what the hell is going on. Now”, Horatio ordered

Marisol finally came clean and told them what Eric had been doing. While Horatio looked at her horrified and oddly enough happily Speed swore. “So he almost went to prison for you?”

“I didn’t want him to…”

“If you had really meant that you would have made sure he stayed away”

“She’s his family Tim”, Horatio pointed out evenly. Speed turned away because he swore if the redhead said something else he would kill the other man. He concentrated on getting his husband’s name cleared

“Fine let her go to Stetler and Megan and…”

“I have a plan”. Horatio explained what he had in mind. 

“You’re not clearing Eric’s name. You are only diverting suspicion away from him”

“That has to be enough for now. Even Eric would hate it if I got Marisol involved”. Speed knew he was right and that only made things worse

Pavel’s reactions matched Speed’s own but for all the wrong reasons and he finally found out why Horatio’s first suspicion had been that Eric had been doing drugs.

“You let him near marijuana?”, the Russian roared at his sister-in-law making her back off in fear. 

“I swear I… It was the only thing that would help me with the pain”

Eric’s heart was thudding painfully in his chest. “You both thought…” - he turned to his uncle. “So that’s why you didn’t believe me. You thought I broke my promise to you”. Speed may not have a clear picture of what was going on but he did know one thing. Giving his word meant everything to Eric and he would do everything humanely possible to never break it. And especially not to Horatio. “No don’t”, he backed off when his uncle tried to get closer. “Please don’t”, he said as he moved away, before he turned towards his husband

Speed laughed lightly at the look on his face. “I don’t care if you smoked pot years ago. Remember how I told you I have some things in my past I’m not proud of?”

Eric only nodded and rested his forehead on his husband’s shoulder. “Can we please go home now?”, he whispered as Speed brought his arms around to hug him


	9. Chapter 9

“Watcha got there?” JJ’s question startled Luke into jumping making her chuckle. “If you were lost then it has to be something big. So who is it a beautiful girl?”

Luke laughed lightly before he looked around the bullpen. As usual he and JJ had been the first ones in. The only other person in the entire floor was Hotch and he had a feeling the man hadn’t even been home the previous night. “Here come on because you’re not gonna be leaving me alone”. JJ rolled her eyes but came closer to see…

“Is that?”

“Hm, hm. Yeah he is”

“Luke he looks exactly like you”

“I know”. There was a gentle but longing smile on Luke’s face as he stared at the picture of his brother and Speed. Both men were dressed in tuxedos and looked like they were at a party. Luke though knew from the cake that this was the wedding Phil had been talking to him about

“He looks worn out”, he muttered almost to himself and JJ had to agree. Eric looked like he’d been through the mill and the smile on his face while happy was ragged

“Maybe he’s just had a long few weeks. Grapevine says the Mala Noche a Nicaraguan gang is active on the streets of Miami”

“Yeah that must be it”. He still sounded worried though. ‘Better off my ass’, JJ thought wishing her stubborn friend would for once listen

“Luke a word please”. Hotch’s call had Luke closing the picture and shutting his email down

“I’m not investigating on my own Hotch”, Luke protested as his unit chief explained the conversation he had had with a pissed of head of the crime lab in New York. “I came to you guys with this”

“Yes and I thought we agreed we didn’t have a case”. Luke’s hands drummed on his jeans. “Luke?”

“There was another case in Atlantic City almost three months ago and one in Charleston two weeks ago. I did not connect them”, he said quickly. “The detective in New York Fusco did”

“But clearly you did something”. Mac Taylor had been very specific. He did not want the feds questioning one of his cases

“I told Fusco I didn’t have anything for him but…”

“But what?”

“Fusco knew this detective in Charleston. It’s still an unsolved and I may have given him a list of questions he could potentially ask the families”

“So Fusco did the same thing with the New York homicide”, Hotch realised. He also knew that technically Luke hadn’t done anything wrong. But still… “You know we only get invited in if other agencies trust us Luke. We cannot be bulldozing on their territory”

“Look Hotch. I get it. I really do. Which is why I did stay away. But if we really do have an unsub?”

“Do you have anything else apart from what you told me last time?”

“Yes”. Luke’s answer surprised Hotch and he raised an eyebrow. “Not me”, he said again quickly. 

“Fine your detective Fusco. What did he have?”

“I don’t know about the murders in Portland, Boston and New Haven, but both the New York murder and the Charleston murder had one other thing in common. Neither of the victims knew they’d been adopted. Their families never told them”

“The connection’s still flimsy”

“I know, I agree. But it’s more than what we had. And if there really is one guy killing people… Well he’s not just moving down the coast, he’s accelerating”

Hotch gave in to his headache and pinched the bridge of his nose. Luke he knew might have had a point but this was one of those cases where most of it was supposition. And with three people already locked up for three different murders if those cases were reopened it would be career suicide for a lot of the detectives involved. ‘But if we really do have an unsub’. Hotch made a decision. “Work with Gideon. See if you can’t get Fusco to talk to the Charleston detective and get you a consult. But Luke. The trail ends here if you still have nothing”. Luke hesitated. “What is it?” Hotch’s tone was not happy

“I’ll talk to Fusco about Charleston but the Maine one is still open too so…”

“Fine. Work with Gideon”

“Thanks boss”

Hotch only nodded

“So you got the go ahead?”

“Hm, hm. Yes”

“I’m only gonna ask this once but is this because Eric doesn’t know he’s adopted?”

She had expected a flat out denial but he didn’t have the habit of lying to her. “I don’t know JJ”, Luke said at last. “Yeah he is there at the back of my mind and yes I am worried about him becoming an eventual target but it’s more of a… I don’t know how to say it but everyone has that one case you know”

JJ definitely knew. She had her own ghosts after all

“Ok. If you wanna talk…”, she said but she had forgotten he was a profiler.

“You know the same applies to you right?”

It had taken both of them a month working together but finally Gideon and Luke had something to take to the team

“The connection’s still flimsy as hell”. Morgan was the first one to object. “I mean yeah these guys were adopted and yes they may have not known but hell we can’t even prove that in three of these cases”

“Ok but there is another connection. The M.O. is related to one of the birth parent’s occupation”, JJ pointed out. That was the one factor that had cinched it for Luke

“Yeah but not with the case in Atlantic City. Hell even the local police aren’t sure the whole thing wasn’t an accident, which is why the bus driver is still a free man”, Elle argued

“And I can see one more wrinkle. All of these are closed adoptions. Which begs the question if there is an unsub how the hell did he know about them?”, Morgan asked. 

Luke and Gideon had been through all of them including the ones the team hadn’t yet thought of. “Ok A. Closed adoption does not mean you can’t find out. There are always ways. And as far as Boston and Atlantic City, we can get the information by talking to family and loved ones”

“Yeah but we still don’t have an invite”, Hotch pointed out

“I think Luke may be right Hotch”. Gideon arguing in his favour really wasn’t helping Luke with Morgan who after three months wasn’t exactly warming up to the senior profiler. “This is worth looking into. And if the murders are related then he crossed state lines”

“Which means the case is Federal”, JJ finished for him


	10. Chapter 10

“Are you sure Alexx is…?”

“For the last time”, Speed interrupted him. “Yes Alexx would love for us to be here but she understands babe. I promise”

“Yeah but you’ve always been here for Christmas and…”, Eric trailed off when a frustrated Speed kissed him senseless. “What was that for?”, he asked his husband who chuckled. 

“Do I need a reason?”

“No, I’m just wondering what I did so that I can repeat it whenever I wanna be kissed like that”

“Well if you do want to be kissed like that all you have to do is ask”, Speed mumbled as he leaned in closer and kissed him again. They were just moving back toward the bed when the doorbell rang.

“I hate it when that happens”, Eric muttered annoyed making Speed laugh

“Wanna go get it?”. His tone told Eric he didn’t have a choice anyway

“What did you do?”. Even after three years Speed could still surprise him

“Go find out”

Eric was about to argue when the doorbell rang again. Curiosity getting the better of him he opened the front door to find that he had a delivery. Signing for it he mumbled out a “Thanks”, as he eyed the package. Opening it he found… Speed was already there whispering a “Merry Christmas”, in his ear. 

The photograph was the same one Luke had received from Phil and to the outside world wouldn’t even seem anything special. But the way Speed had had it enlarged it clearly showed the love in both men’s eyes. Eric a tired smile on his face had his hands wrapped around Speed’s waist and was resting his head on Speed’s shoulder. Speed’s own eyes were fixed on the younger man and the expression on his face was something Eric would always cherish for as long as he lived. 

“How do you always manage to surprise me like this?”

Eric’s wondering question had Speed laughing lightly. “So does that mean you’re happy?”, he asked the younger man his hands wrapped around Eric’s waist. 

“You’re kidding right?”, Eric asked him still completely stunned. Speed’s amused laughter was music to his ears

“Hey guys how was Vegas?” Natalia’s casual question surprised Speed but he was even more surprised when Eric actually told her some of what they had done over the holidays. He hadn’t even realised the two of them were friends

“Hey look who’s back at the lab?”, Calleigh exclaimed walking out of ballistics giving Eric a hug

“Hey Cal. Did you have a good holiday?”, Eric asked her with far less enthusiasm than he had expressed with Natalia making the blond shoot him a look. She had known Eric wouldn’t have taken her comment at the hospital well but she hadn’t realised he was still upset by it

“Cal”. Apparently so was Speed. Well the two of them weren’t saints either she thought as she walked off with another smile. “That went well”, Speed muttered as Natalia looked on curiously

“Do I need to worry about Natalia?”

“Seriously you’re… Ok so you’re not jealous”, Eric realised when he caught the amused look on Speed’s face

“Now you know how I feel when you talk about Tyler”

“Hey”, Eric protested. “You spent a lot of time in the… Ok fine so I was being stupid and jealous and…”, he trailed off when Speed eyed him hungrily. “And you actually love that don’t you”, he realised suddenly completely uncomfortable in his clothes

“How many times do I have to tell you guys?” Alexx’s voice had them both jumping. “There are cameras in this place”

“Did you want something”, Speed asked her annoyed at the interruption

“Apart from telling you to knock it of trying to spoil Brian and Jamie no”

“What did he get them this time?”, Eric asked her amused at Speed’s predicament

“And you” Alexx suddenly rounded on him. “Diving lessons”

“Hey, I asked Speed for suggestions”

Speed threw his hands up. “How the hell do you sell me out every time when it comes to her?”

“Because she can kick my ass”, Eric remarked in a tone that was meant to ask, ‘Exactly what have you been smoking’

Alexx rolled her eyes but then noticed the television screen. “Is that…?” Eric turned the volume up without being asked as all of them watched Natalia’s interview on the old rape case. By the time she was done Speed was seething

“Let me handle it”. Calleigh was in front of him before he could go to DNA himself. “Tim please let me handle this”, she repeated. But Speed for once did not care

“Which part of the technology did not exist back then did you forget?”, he asked Natalia

“Excuse me”

Calleigh couldn’t stop Speed; that didn’t mean she wouldn’t back him up though. “Your press conference. You made it sound like we didn’t know how to analyse DNA”

“That’s not what I…”

“That’s exactly what it sounded like. We managed with what we had back then… All your fancy toys your federal funds…”

“Speed”. Horatio calling his name had him stop. But Natalia did not like being accused

“That doesn’t excuse a mistake”, she shot back and Speed was ready to see red; until Eric stepped in

“C’mon”. He was dragging the trace expert away with his greater upper body strength. “C’mon”, he repeated and before he knew it Speed was outside with both him and Horatio

“I remember that damn case”, Speed ranted before Horatio could even open his mouth. “You worked your ass off on that one. You barely had anything; heck you didn’t even have me and Megan”

“I know Speed. But unfortunately Ms. Boa Vista is right. We got the wrong man”. Horatio sounded tired making Eric’s heart clench the slightest bit

“Not for lack of evidence damn it”. Speed was still pissed. “That bastard had her underwear”

“I know”, Horatio said then held up his hand. “I need both you and Eric on a murder that’s been called in. Why don’t you let me, Calleigh and Mr. Wolfe handle this?”

“H…”, Eric protested as well unhappy at not being able to help, but the redhead wasn’t going to budge. He did not need the two younger men going down with him. Calleigh and Ryan didn’t have the connections to him that Speed and Eric did

“Fine”, Speed muttered. “But Natalia Boa Vista is bad news”

Eric agreed wholeheartedly

“Look like I told Calleigh I need this grant and if the Feds ask me to…”

“You’re assuming I care”. Speed’s tone could charitably be called neutral

“You may not but I do care about your opinion… About all of your opinions… I’m here to help…”

“You’re here to do a good job, help people, whatever… Look honestly I don’t give a damn. And I have cases so…”

Natalia walked out of Speed’s office a grim look on her face

“You know you could be frien…”, Ryan trailed of at Speed’s glare. “Forget I said anything”, he mumbled then began updating him on the case

“Do not start?”

“About what?”, Eric asked him genuinely confused and Speed sighed.

“Sorry”, he mumbled hugging him in the middle of the corridor and Eric’s confusion deepened. Speed was usually not someone who sought comfort at work

“What’s wrong babe?” Eric’s voice had softened without him realizing it

“Nothin’”. Speed stepped back slightly embarrassed. “I’m gonna be you know…”. He pointed to the trace lab and disappeared

“Valera…”

“Yes I know you need it ASAP”, Valera quipped making Eric chuckle

“You got it. And just so you know me Speed and Wolfe are working on this one”

“Oh damn. Speed’s been a bear the whole week hasn’t he”

“That’s an understatement”, Eric muttered. Speed had been biting all of their heads at work for the last few days and he had a feeling he knew exactly what or who was responsible for it

“Hi”. Speak of the devil he thought at the friendly greeting he heard. Eric managed a nod and a smile at Natalia. Not that he had wanted to… Eric was perfectly capable of being friendly to the people Speed hated. But in this case Natalia had made the lab and more importantly his uncle look bad. Just because they’d been lucky and Brian’s attorney had been an idiot didn’t mean that Horatio hadn’t just dodged a bullet

“Hey, it’s still gonna take me a few hours at least you know”

“Oh right sorry”, he mumbled and left the DNA lab

“I wouldn’t worry too much”. Valera’s voice had Natalia come back from wherever she had been lost. 

“Sorry what?”

“Eric and Speed. They’re both very loyal to this lab and Horatio. They’ll come around”

“Oh yeah, right thanks”. She really appreciated Valera’s efforts to comfort her but she had a feeling the two men wouldn’t be so easy to placate. Or even her once they learnt why she was really here

One of the only good things Speed had done when it came to his office relationships was be pleasant – sometimes – to patrol officers who guarded his scene. This came down mostly to Mike Colfax drilling into him that when CSIs were engrossed to the point of losing themselves in a scene it was the patrol cops who had their back. Speed had never forgotten that lesson and that had apparently earned him enough trust with one of the newer ones, a young African American named Joey Brown. So when Marisol was arrested and asked for Eric the call came to him instead of his husband or even Horatio

“Hey Joey, what’s going on. You sounded cagy on the phone?” Joey in response nodded to the second car and another cop behind him and she opened her door to let out…

Speed was stunned to see Marisol Caine standing there especially when he was told she’d been arrested on drug charges. “She said Eric Delko could help her, but she also had the L.T.’s last name on her licence so…”

“You did good Brown thanks”, Speed said. “Did you confiscate the drugs she…?”

“Yes

“And the dealer?”

“Ran when we got there”

“How many bags?”

“Five bags in total”

Speed swore. Five bags was definitely more than something for personal use. They would book her on intent to distribute and that would mean years behind bars. He wasn’t sure which one Eric or Horatio would do something stupid like break her out or smuggle her out of the country in such a case. He hesitated but knew he had no choice. “Send the bags to the lab and get her there as well. I’ll take care of it”

“Anything you wanna tell us Speed”

‘That didn’t take long’, Speed thought as Horatio and Eric walked into the trace lab. “Give us a minute would you Aaron?” He waited for the tech to leave. “What do you guys know?”

Eric looked like he wanted to hit someone; preferably him. “You left her in a holding cell?”

Speed took a deep breath trying to control his temper. “She was caught buying marijuana on the boardwalk. When the patrol cops arrested her she had five bags on her. So yes, I left her in a holding cell”. Eric turned away clearly frustrated at his calm answer and he lost it. “Tell me what the fuck I could have done that was legal. And don’t you dare tell me you’re willing to destroy your careers over this”

“She’s my wife Speed”. Horatio’s voice was soft. 

“Ex-wife”, Speed reminded him and for a second wondered if Horatio would hit him. He took another deep breath. “I want you both to leave this lab”

“Excuse me?” Eric sounded like he couldn’t believe his ears

“Leave. My. Lab”

“Tim”

“No H. I don’t care if you both end up hating me for this. I’m not letting you both destroy your lives over this”, he said firmly just as the printer spit out the results of the composition of drugs. He swore again

“Marijuana?” Eric’s voice sounded small

“Aaron randomly tested them. And yes all of them came back positive. She had over an ounce on her” It was Eric’s turn to swear.

“She could do ten years”

“I know Eric”. It wasn’t as if he could say anything else

“Can you test all of them?” Horatio’s question had Eric looking up with something close to hope

Speed hesitated. He’d been about to do that anyway. “Give me the name of the dealer, stay out of it and find her a lawyer”

“Speed…”

“Horatio you need to trust me on this. Eric I need to know where she buys the drugs from. You”, - he pointed to his husband - “Were just suspected of using drugs. And you, the patrol cop who arrested her spotted the last name. So no I’m not giving you a choice”

“I… I can ask her”, Eric gave in at last none too happily. Horatio nodded as well and left. Speed took another deep breath and got to work

“You’re Eric Delko’s partner aren’t you. That’s convenient”. Speed couldn’t exactly blame Monica West’s skepticism considering he had just torpedoed her case

“Look the evidence trail lines up and the dealer confessed to using bunk. You don’t have a case here”

“You mean the evidence you analysed”

“The lab has cameras. You’re welcome to the footage”

“Your lab”, Monica West said tone biting as she got in his face, “Is clearly dirty. You’re lucky I’m not shutting you down right now”

Speed knew he should be happy with the outcome but then again the lab had always meant a lot more to him than he had let on with most people and he wasn’t going to let her comment slide. “Let’s not confuse the issue here. All you have is the word of someone who may be a snitch. You have no such thing called evidence and that’s what we run on in our lab. So until you actually have something to shut us down with… I don’t have time to listen to badly worded threats so…”

He left a fuming state attorney behind

Horatio and Eric paced the pier wondering why in the hell Speed had asked them here of all places when Marisol was still stuck at PD. It was then that they spotted the Hummer and more importantly the passenger that got out of it

Marisol spoke a few words with Speed who mostly stuck to nods before she advanced toward the two men. It was Horatio who would reach her first. “Are you all right?”, he asked her softly looking closer to see if she really was ok. She managed a nod then turned to Eric but his attention had already moved to his husband

He smiled at Marisol. “I’m glad you’re ok”, he told her and with a nod at Horatio reached the Hummer and got in without a word

“I told you to stay away from the damn lab”. Eric listened to Speed’s tirade in silence glad that the older man had at least chosen to roll the blinds down. “What in the hell made you not just come back to it but to actually look at my results? Who the hell said you could touch my evidence?” The part-Cuban kept his mouth shut mostly because he didn’t have a leg to stand on. Speed took a deep breath. “Are you gonna help her again?” Eric’s eyes widened at his tone. “Are you?” He read the answer on the younger man’s face as usual. “You don’t care about the consequences do you?”

“What am I supposed to do just let her die?”

“I thought you hated her for leaving Horatio”

Eric’s shoulders slumped at the logical question knowing he couldn’t explain even to himself as to why he still cared about Marisol when he ought to have let her go by now. “She’s family Tim”, was all he could say in the end

“All right fine. Do what you want”

“Speed, don’t… I can’t just…”

“You can’t just what? Like I said do what you want Eric”. With that he left the office

Eric wasn’t expecting Speed home that night. His husband usually ran when he was upset and he’d just driven a huge wedge between them. He had often times wondered about the same question. Why the hell did he care about her when all she had done was broken his uncle’s heart. And the only answer he’d come up with was something he knew was frustrating Speed to no end; she was family

‘But if it comes down to her and Speed. Would you still help her?’

“Speed wouldn’t ask me to choose”, he whispered unable to stop the fear coursing through him. “He never has”

‘But what if he does now?’

“He won’t. He won’t ask me to…”

‘And how do you know this is not Marisol’s plan anyway? How do you know she isn’t using her illness to play you? After all she’s made her hatred of Speed plain’

The sound of the front door opening stopped Eric’s musings and he wondered if Horatio had come to check on him. “You’re still up?” Speed’s question surprised him. The look on his face had Speed wincing as he realised Eric had expected him to run. 

“I don’t want you helping her again. If you do…”. The ultimatum did not come from Speed as he had expected but from his dad. “No that husband of yours did not tell me, nor did Horatio”, Pavel added at his furious look. “I’m not a complete idiot my son. And you will listen to me on this”

“She doesn’t have…”

This time his dad sounded weary. “She has Horatio. She has her hooks in him again and… In any case he will take care of her treatments from now”

Eric looked horrified at the very thought. “But he’s the head of the lab. If he’s caught buying drugs…”

“I think your uncle, he is more creative than you give him credit for Eric. He will know what to do”

Eric’s bad week from hell turned worse on Friday as Speed met him in the print lab. “There… there’s this conference in Virginia. Horatio’s signed me up for it…”, he began hesitantly. 

“Are you asking me to come or telling me you’re going?” 

“I… I don’t know”, he admitted

Eric made his decision for him. “Ok. Have a good trip then. I’ll see you when you get back”


	11. Chapter 11

“Seriously. How paranoid are you?”

“Very. Have you met me?”, Luke shot back as he walked towards his apartment with JJ after a late dinner. “But hey, in this case it’s not paranoia. I mean have you seen his eyes every time we leave work together. I’m telling you if Reid kills me it’s your fault”

“Ha ha. Alvez. You’re hilarious”

“No seriously. I thought you two went on a date. What the hell happened to… Jayje?”, he asked when she stopped moving and saw her stare at a man exiting a bookstore. Luke’s jaw dropped as he spotted Tim Speedle in Virginia and that too in his neighbourhood and decided God hated him. Particularly when Speed saw him at the same time

“Eric…”, Speed began his surprise plain before he figured it out. “So he does have an evil twin”. His mutter should not have made sense to the people in front of him. Unless of course they knew he and more importantly Eric existed

Luke closed his eyes for a second as his worst nightmare and biggest wish became a reality at the same time. “Is… is he…?”

“No”. Speed apparently knew exactly who and what he was talking about. “Eric’s not here. He’s still in Miami”

Alvez’s hands drummed a beat across the pocket of his pants as he faltered. Speed didn’t seem to be faring much better either. “Men”, JJ muttered before she took charge. “Hi. I’m Special Agent Jenifer Jareau with the FBI”. ‘Real smooth going with your official title JJ’, she thought. ‘Ok so I’m not much better than the two of them’

Speed looked like she had lost her mind but shook her hand anyway. “Tim Speedle, with the Miami Dade Crime Lab”. The look on her face confirmed his suspicions. So they had known about himself and Eric

“This idiot” - JJ pointed to her friend. “Is Special Agent Luke Alvez. He works with me in the…”

“Behavioural Analysis Unit. I know who you are Ms. Jareau”, Speed said absent-mindedly his eyes on Luke’s face. “You look exactly like him”, he muttered then winced. Course he does. The guy has Eric’s DNA. “So Shannon Walsh was you”

“Um… yeah. Yeah it… I was… um undercover and she…”. Yeah of course Alvez he’s going to buy your justification when you don’t

“And the Montes brothers?”

Wonderful Luke thought. Out loud all he said was. “It was the same job. For the DEA”, he added

“I’m sorry what Montes brothers”. JJ, Luke decided had possibly the worst timing; and no concept of discretion

“The same Montes brothers who tried to kill Eric Delko. I’m guessing they mistook him for you”. The tone alone should’ve burned Luke on the spot. 

Speed was wondering if he could just close his eyes, walk away and justify this meeting as a nightmare. Because he was pretty sure, no scratch that 100 percent sure he was talking to Eric’s twin brother. A twin brother even Horatio wasn’t aware of, which meant he had stumbled upon something else Pavel and Carmen had hidden from them and that in turn meant when Eric found out he would be pissed

“You can’t tell him about me”. And of course the new guy would ask him to keep this a secret.

“Sorry man. But I’m married to him. Trust me I’m incapable of lying to him”

“Look Officer Speedle you don’t…”

“How about”, JJ interrupted both men. “How about we discuss this somewhere where there are walls”, she added giving the street around him a pointed look

Luke realised she was right. The middle of the road was hardly the place for this conversation. “My apartment’s nearby”, he muttered.

“Yeah course it is”, Speed answered in turn his sarcasm still intense. Yeah course if there was a God he had a pretty morbid sense of humour to have dumped him on the hundreds of square miles of this city in this particular neighbourhood. 

“You all right?” Calleigh’s question interrupted Eric’s musings as he looked up from the piece of paper he’d been starting at.

“I’m fine”. The response was automatic.

“You sure?”, she pressed. “Cos you’ve been staring at the results for about ten minutes now”

“Cal…”, Eric muttered 

“Would it help if I apologi…”

“I’m not mad at you Calleigh”, he interrupted her. “Yeah what you said at the hospital, it hurt. But then again I know I’ve said my share of idiotic things over the years”

“Then what is it Eric?”, she asked worried at the defeated look on his face

“You got a couple of days?”, he asked her trying to turn this into a joke but of course she wouldn’t buy it

“C’mon”. She tilted her head. 

“Cal, we’ve got a…”

“Everything ok?”, Ryan asked them both from the door to the lab then stopped. “I’m gonna…”

“Ah perfect timing Ryan”. Calleigh’s cheerful interruption had Ryan backing up even further. “You” - she beckoned him over and he found himself obeying with a sigh. “Can follow up on this, while Eric and I take a drive for another case”.

“Calleigh”. Eric’s tone told her he did not appreciate what she had just done. But all he received was a sweet smile in return. 

“I’m sure Ryan’s perfectly capable of” - she glanced at the results - “Arresting the son-in-law. So it was him”, she mused for a second before she handed Ryan the results with a look that said ‘Chop-chop’ then turned to him

Realising he did not have a choice, Eric followed her out with a sigh

“Thanks”, Speed muttered as Luke placed a cup of coffee on the table in front of him. For once he was completely uncomfortable and ready to almost jump out of his skin. The face in front of him was exactly the same as his husband’s and yet so different. 

‘So what bad taste in clothes, hair and facial hair’

Luke did not have bad taste in clothes and his hair did look like it had seen a comb sometime recently, but he did have a beard. Eric on the other hand would never even think of walking into the lab anything other than clean shaven. ‘When he’s not lying through his teeth and helping someone that is’, he thought recalling that the younger man had been too tired recently to even think about shaving everyday

“Officer Speedle?”

“Sorry what?” Speed lifted his head up to see Luke staring at him weirdly and realised he’d been lost in his head. He hesitated but then again the kid was family too. “Tim or Speed”, he offered. Luke managed a nod looking just as uncomfortable as him. Speed decided to get the ball rolling. He had come here to talk after all. “When did you find out about us?”

Luke hesitated wishing JJ were here to smooth things over. But the blond had thought this was a family matter and had left him alone here to deal with his brother’s husband, his brother-in-law. Speed was his brother-in-law, he was his family

‘And you want a family. You always have’. Phil’s words rang in his ears. As much as he hated to admit it, that part was true. Luke had always wanted to find his real family.

Not for lack of love though. His parents and his grandmother had shown just how important he was to them. Even after he had accidently found out he’d been adopted and had been not exactly kind to them in words or deed, they’d never made him feel like a stranger. Not that they’d let his transgressions slide. His father had been an army man and had generally been tough on him; tough but fair. And Luke had always been proud of his foster parents and had loved them in turn. But still there had been that longing, that desire to see his real family, imagine what it would’ve been like to have grown up with them. And that desire had only increased from the moment he’d known about Eric. 

It hadn’t sunk in till he was face to face with Speed, but he was beginning to understand that the reason he’d been pushing everyone and himself away from even thinking of a concept of a relationship with Eric was due to the simple fact that he had been and still was as a matter of fact scared out of his mind. If Eric rejected him, if Eric told him he didn’t want Luke or worse if Eric blamed him for finding out he hadn’t been born to the Delkos as he had thought… 

It was Speed’s turn to snap him out of it by calling his name. Luke glared at the slightly amused expression. “Two years”, he answered at last throat suddenly dry. “I found out about you guys a little more than two years ago. A friend of mine, she saw Eric and made the connection”

“Does this friend have a name?”

“Emily. Her name’s Emily Prentiss. You don’t seem very surprised”

Speed’s chuckle was slightly bitter. “So you did know about him when Shannon Walsh died”

“Yes”, Luke answered softly his head bowed. He couldn’t look Speed in the eye. The trace expert though didn’t leave as he expected him to. 

“Why?”, he asked at last

Luke was sure he hadn’t heard right. Was Speed actually giving him a chance to explain. Not that he had one, at least not one Speed was going to accept. It would’ve been better off if Speed had walked away because his explanation was going to make things worse. “I… I was undercover”. It was if Speed was waiting for the punchline of a joke. “I… I had three months left and I couldn’t just… It was two years of my life”. It was as if he suddenly needed Speed to understand. Needed Speed to not hate him or just dismiss him 

“It’s ok kid”. Speed’s smile turned into a chuckle at the look on his face. “Eric… he… looks exactly like that when he’s gob smacked too”. There was a shy smile on Luke’s face that made Speed almost gasp out loud. “You know he’s gonna love the fact that he has a brother right?”

Speed’s question surprised Luke. “I just told you he almost went to prison…”. A sudden thought struck him. “The alibi thing, that wasn’t me”

“Trust me kid I get that”

“What do you mean?”

“Nervous as you are it would’ve been the first thing you would’ve told me. Yes I read him just as well. And yes it annoys him to no end. Is he going to be mad at you? Yeah a bit, but that’s mostly because you managed to ruin our holiday. Eric, he’s one of the most compassionate and understanding people I’ve come across Luke. He’ll find a way to forgive you”

“Maybe. But he also doesn’t know he was adopted. And trust me Tim, that’s… finding out something like that isn’t… I wouldn’t wish it on anyone”

“So you were adopted too”. The sudden shift in topic disoriented him for a second before he managed a nod. “And your parents?”

“If you’re asking about my birth parents then I only have my mother’s first name”

Speed would after everything he would be through the next few years wish he’d never asked the question. “Which is?”

“Marisol. Her name’s Marisol. And before you ask I have… You know who she is”

The CSI closed his eyes, his suspicions from that day at the hospital so long ago confirmed. “Yes. I know exactly who your parents are”. His laugh was slightly hysterical. “And trust me when I say I really wish I didn’t”

“Early dinner?”, Eric asked Calleigh as they both stopped at a deli near the lab

“Or a late lunch. I’d bet you didn’t eat yours anyway”

“I’m not a kid you know”

Calleigh laughed. “Trust me Eric you act like it enough times”

“Ha, ha. Cal”, he retorted as they placed their orders. “I screwed up”, he admitted when the waitress left them alone.

“You usually do. Or I should say the both of you usually do”. He managed a smile at her attempt at humour. “Can I ask how? You know you can talk to me about anything right?”

Oh Eric definitely knew that. Calleigh had somehow over the years become one of his best friends and they had found themselves telling each other almost everything; up until his disastrous decision to get married far away from his family. 

“Did I ever apologise for Vegas?”

Calleigh squeezed his hand. “Only about a hundred times. C’mon Eric, you did what you thought was right. Trust me when I say it’s fine. We’re fine now”

“Yeah but… I hurt you right”

“Just like with my comment at the hospital”

“It’s not the same Cal… I…”. He paused when their orders were brought over. 

“Eric, please just trust me on this”, Calleigh interrupted before he could apologise again. “I don’t mind that you got married somewhere else. Now will you tell me what’s going on or do I have to shoot it out of you”

For the first time in a while Eric found himself smiling again. “Thank you”, he told her sincerely

“No problem. Although I have no idea of what I just did”

Eric smiled again. “You’re here. That matters more than you know”

“I don’t care what she told your nana. That part’s not true”, Speed argued passionately when Luke told him what he’d learned about Horatio and his relationship with Marisol. “I know the guy Luke. I’ve worked with him for almost ten years now. There is no way he abused anyo…”. He stopped as he recalled something Eric had told him recently

‘They beat her Tim. That’s why she left. Whoever uncle H was chasing they beat her. And they didn’t even care she was pregnant’

“Is… um… is your nana… can you ask her when this was?”

Luke looked in confusion at Speed’s sudden white face. “Um… she told me Marisol was around seven months pregnant. Why?”

Speed’s laugh was tinged with hysteria again. “Cos she played your grandmother. Just like she played Eric. Just like she’s been playing Horatio for a long time”

“What the hell are you talking about?”, Luke threw back his own voice rising as he felt his past shattering again

Speed took a deep breath trying to calm himself down. “Look kid. Like I said I know your parents and their extended families. Carmen Delko, the one who’s right now Eric’s ma she’s Marisol’s older sister. She’s Horatio, your birth father’s”. He paused. Calling Horatio, Eric’s dad still felt weird. And it probably violated so many rules at the lab it wasn’t even funny. “Carmen, she’s his sister-in-law and H, Horatio he’s… He may have kept all of this a secret but I’m sure as hell inclined to trust him than her now. And before you ask, no, it’s not because he’s my boss. He earned my loyalty he didn’t ask for it”

“You know Marisol’s been sick right?”, Eric asked Calleigh at last

“Yes. I heard. I also know now that that was her I saw at the hospital that day”

“Yeah it was…. She didn’t want H or our family to know so… She only agreed to let me help when I promised not to tell anyone. And I know that’s not an excuse but that’s why I’ve been late to the lab and that’s why Wolfe’s eye happened”

“Eric, Ryan will be the first one to tell you his eye wasn’t your fault”. She held up a hand to stop him speaking. “Do you blame Speed for Officer Hollis’ death. Or would you like it if anyone did”

He should’ve known she would bring up dispo day and Speed’s gun. “You said it yourself the trajectory was off…”. He stopped seeing her point

“I take it Speed isn’t happy about the situation with Marisol”

“No. He doesn’t like her. And again I can’t say he’s wrong. I mean after that… that disastrous Christmas party…”, he added with a smile

“Where you tried to set me and Horatio up. By the way if you try to meddle again I will shoot you”

She received an eye-roll for her threat. “She… she started stalking us and…” He explained about the endless dinners where she’d complain about his relationship with another man. “She disappeared for a while after that but then turned up one day to say goodbye”

“But your Lt., he could’ve been lying all these years. You can’t say you know him well”. Luke still felt the need to defend the only birth parent he had sort of known all these years

“No Luke. I’m sorry. I can’t accept that. I may not analyse behavior like you but I can look at evidence just fine. And evidence isn’t just physical. It’s contextual. Everything I’ve seen of Marisol so far tells me she manipulates people for her own purpose. She may not be as bad as I make her out to be”, he added with another bitter smile. “I mean, she’s been screwing with our married life in so many ways now it’s not even funny. And I’m not a fan…” He smiled again. Softening the blow wasn’t him. “I hate her. I’ll admit. But that’s because she almost destroyed Eric’s life and career. And now she’s after Horatio again. Just when he could’ve had some happiness”

“What do you mean?”

Speed hesitated for a minute at the weary question from the younger man but then found himself explaining about the cancer

“No wonder Speed’s been mad at you”, Calleigh said softly when Eric had told her the entire story of the last few months. “Have you considered that…?”

“She’s been using me. Yeah Calleigh, trust me. I have”

The conversation paused for a second mainly because Eric had no idea of what to say and Calleigh didn’t know how to express what she did want to say without hurting him

“You know that day at the hospital when I assumed you were…”

“Back to my old ways?”, he teased but she didn’t let him distract her

“I have been jealous of you and Speed for so long now. Do not comment”, she added threateningly knowing just how he would want to interpret that statement. “I mean the two of you, you have something so beautiful Eric. Something so rare. And I wanted that. I still do”, she added with a wistful smile. “So when I saw you with another woman… All I could think of was how could you even… I couldn’t let you destroy what you had so I… I was angry and I said something I probably shouldn’t have but Eric right now what I’m gonna say… You didn’t just screw up. You took the trust he had in you and stomped on it. You’re lucky he’s even speaking to you now”

‘Looks like I wasn’t so successful in not hurting him’, she realised at the tears in his eyes

Speed stopped when he finished telling Luke about why he had essentially taken this trip to D.C. Luke remained silent as well trying to process everything. “I… I don’t know what to say”, he admitted at last. “I mean… everything I heard about this woman, I thought she sacrificed herself for me and now I find out…”

“I’m sorry Luke”

“Don’t be”. Luke managed a smile. “I mean, it’s not your fault she’s a liar”

“Look I know all of this is hard to take in but if you need proof…”

“You have no reason to lie to me about all this Tim. I… I have a friend in the Miami Field Office. And he’s been telling me what he can about the two of you”. Speed looked alarmed causing the younger man to shake his head quickly. “He’s not the spy, although you do have one”

“Let me guess a former federal agent”

Luke nodded at Speed’s answer

‘You’re lucky, he’s even speaking to you’. Those words had been ringing in his ears and not even the – he counted the number of beers in front of him – fifth bottle or the loud music could erase them

“Haven’t seen you around in a while”, a low voice purred in his ear before…

“Get lost”. Cole’s response had the brunette look at him in dismissal before she reassessed the situation. 

“You don’t have to be jealous you know I’m sure we can…”

“Seriously how the hell do you manage to attract… women… like her? Move”, the second man added when she continued to stay there her hand still on Eric’s shoulder

“They’re right Gloria, get lost”, Eric intervened. “Now before I call my colleagues to arrest you”

“Fine. It’s your loss”. She walked away but Eric was sure she’d be back 

“Whoa”, Cole exclaimed when he counted the number of bottles. “We were barely there for ten minutes on the floor Delko”, he complained. 

“Which part of I need to get drunk did you not understand?”

“There’s drunk and there’s drunk man. You’re on your way to getting smashed”, Ethan commented as he lazily scanned the dance floor

“Which is exactly why I wanted you here”

“What you and Speed break up or something”

“Ethan stop”. Eric’s sharp voice had both of them looking at him in concern

“Don’t tell me you screwed up…”

“Ethan mate. You might want to back off or it’s your face he might just smash in”, Cole warned him as he saw Eric’s clenched jaw and the nerve twitching near his eye

Eric stopped Ethan from speaking. “I do not wanna talk about it. I just want to get drunk. Now can you guys be here or am I doing this at home”

Ethan’s answer was to order himself a beer

“I meant what I said Tim. Now more than ever. You can’t tell Eric any of this. It’ll break his heart”

Speed wasn’t sure he could disagree with Luke’s assessment. Particularly when he knew just how close he was to Horatio. “What about you though kid?”, he asked at last. “I mean you have a brother who doesn’t know anything about you. And don’t tell me you’re ok with that”

“Of course I’m not ok with that. But… I found out I was adopted when I was thirteen. I… I had this school project for a family tree and I went hunting around for old albums and records and stuff”. His smile was sad. “I found this letter my nana had written Marisol, informing her of how I was doing and at first I couldn’t understand why she’d be telling a stranger all of this information about me. But then… I went hunting more and found my real birth certificate. It had her name on it and I… I confronted all of them with it”

“They told you, you were adopted”

“Yes”. He swiped angrily at his eyes when he felt them water. “My life felt like it shattered right there… I mean I was still a kid but I knew those words meant they weren’t mine. That they were somehow strangers”

“That’s not how it works Luke. They were even more closer to you than Marisol or Horatio could ever be. They chose you”

“I know that now. But back then all I could think of was how they had lied to me and I… I said and did things I’m not proud of… I mean back then all I wanted to do was be like my dad see… Wanted to join the army…”

As Luke explained how he had admired his dad Speed found himself admitting more and more that the younger man was right. Eric admired Horatio just as much and had actually followed in the redhead’s footsteps

“What you just described Luke… I mean Pavel may have been Eric’s father in name but that’s the relationship he shares with Horatio. I’m pretty sure he became a criminalist to make his uncle proud of him and…”. His phone ringing stopped him from continuing and put a smile on his face. “Hey babe”. The affection in his voice was obvious to Luke and he realised Speed was talking to his brother. The CSI had been about to ask if he should turn the call on speaker when Eric’s voice made him frown

“You know I love you right?” That he wasn’t just drunk but completely smashed was obvious in just that one sentence. 

Speed’s worry deepened. That loud music, it was very familiar. “Babe where…”

“Tell me you know that. Tell me you know I love you more than anyone. I mean I don’t care about Marisol or anyone. I’ll stop talking to her. I’ll stop talking to anyone. But you… you won’t leave me right. You’ll always speak to me right”

“Eric babe… Slow down ok. I need you to slow down babe. Can you do that for me?”, Speed asked him in the calmest voice he could manage. 

“Yeah ok”, Eric answered at last. “But…”

“No wait”. His voice had become sharper and he wasn’t too surprised when there was silence on the other end. “Sorry Eric. I just panicked for a second, that’s all babe. I promise. I’m fine now”

“You are”. The slurring was becoming worse

“Hm, hm. Yeah. Can you tell me…”

“Ethan”, he heard Eric yell before a voice he had never heard came on line

“Eric’s fine Officer Speedle”, Ethan reassured him calmly. “He’s just being an ass is all”

“Where are you guys?”

“We’re at Cole’s bar sir. Don’t worry I’ll get him home…”

“I know you will Ethan. Eric trusts you and so do I. Can I talk to him please?”

“Speed”. Eric’s voice was becoming sleepier. Speed had to smile. 

“I need you to do something for me ok babe”

“Anything”. That response made Speed smile again.

“I need you to let Ethan and Cole take you home. I’ll catch the first flight out tomorrow. And I’ll be there before you know it. Is it your day off tomorrow?”

“I don’t know”, Eric mumbled making him chuckle out loud.

“Ok, don’t worry about it. I’ll call H and let him know you won’t be in”

“I won’t?”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “Hm, hm. You won’t. Between that hangover and the lunch you’re gonna be cooking for me tomorrow you won’t have time to go to work”

“I’m cooking for you”

“Yes you are”, he teased. “And I want Irish food”

“But I don’t know how to make Irish food”, Eric whined. Speed heard the noise of the music fade away and realised that Ethan and Cole were getting him out. 

“Well there’s this thing called a cookbook. I’m sure you’ll figure out how to use it”

“Ok”, Eric said and Speed could hear the smile in his voice. “Does this mean you won’t stop speaking to me”

He suddenly felt his throat clogging at the childlike question. “Till death do us apart remember. I’m never letting you go babe”

“Even if I make you mad?”

“You aren’t scaring me away Eric. Ever. I love you. So much”

Eric’s voice was fading to whispers and Speed knew he was falling asleep. “I love you too”, he managed to say before he heard the dial tone. 

“Everything ok”, Luke asked him when he hung up

“Someone’s been meddling. Eric, he… Someone must have told him I’m still mad at him for lying about Marisol”

“Aren’t you?” Luke’s question was mostly curious and he was finally beginning to relax around Speed. 

“You’re a behavioral analyst”, Speed teased. “What do you think?”

“I think he’s got you wrapped around his fingers”, Luke countered before he turned serious. “You just lied to him didn’t you”. At Speed’s startled look he elaborated. “About going back tomorrow”

“You might just be good at that reading people thing”, Speed muttered annoyed the agent was spot on. “I… I won’t tell Eric anything”, he promised

“But you’re gonna confront them”

“I need to know what’s going on Luke. I still don’t know what Marisol’s motivations were but if Horatio did change Eric’s name and identity then there’s only one reason I can think of”

Luke swallowed as he understood what Speed was getting at. “His life’s in danger”. He moved towards his phone

“What are you…?”

“There is no way you’re getting a last minute flight out of here, not unless you flash that useless badge of yours”. He ignored Speed’s glare with a very familiar smirk. “Or charter a plane out. So let me save you the trouble”

“Looks like having a Fed in the family may be useful after all”, Speed retorted with his own smirk


	12. Chapter 12

Horatio was startled as he heard his doorbell ring at five A.M. in the morning and moved warily to the peephole. Relaxing at the very familiar face he wondered what in the hell Speed was doing here this early. Particularly since he still had one day left on his conference

Speed meanwhile couldn’t help but glare at the woman he saw behind his boss and father-in-law. Marisol realizing he would hardly want to see her was about to move away when he asked for a conversation with both of them

“What is it Speed?”, Horatio asked after he served the trace expert a cup of coffee

“You know”, Speed began trying to gather his thoughts and not lash out. “That day at the hospital after Marcel, when I saw the way you looked at Eric… it took me a while but the look on your face it was paternal. Then when I heard Eric and you talk, I mean he interacted with you like you were his favourite uncle, but you…”. He stopped at the scared look on his boss’ face. “A part of me always thought you were hiding something from him. Always. But after Wally, I realised just how important you were in all our lives and I promised myself I would stop digging. But I guess the God you believe in had other plans”. He threw a photograph on the table. A photo which he had borrowed from Special Agent Luke Alvez. “That’s not photoshop by the way. Eric does have a twin stashed away and it turns out he’s not evil”

It was a photo of team of Federal Agents, if the office they were in was any indication. Horatio recognized just which group of Feds this was. Gideon and Jennifer Jareau had been in the media spotlight enough for him long enough to know their faces. This then was the famous BAU team. And right in the middle of said team was a young Hispanic male who was the splitting image of his son

“Shannon Walsh?” 

“Undercover job. The way he said it he had no choice”

“You met him?”

“Hm, hm. Last night. I was in a bookstore in his neighbourhood. Eric won’t be in today by the way”, Speed added suddenly. “I spoke to him last night and he’s gonna be having one hell of a hangover”

The lab was the least of Horatio’s concerns at the moment. “What’s his name?”

It took the CSI a minute to recognize that Horatio’s question wasn’t to him but to his ex-wife. “Luke”, he supplied when she remained silent. “His name’s Luke Alvez. He works for the BAU”

“And his parents?” He smiled at Speed’s flabbergasted look. “You and I know better than most people that giving someone your DNA does not make you their father. Luke and Eric are the children of the people who brought them up Tim. Not mine”. They saw Marisol turn away

Speed had to admit he was touched but that still didn’t exclude all the lies. “Why did you do it?”

Horatio sighed. “I could tell you I had no choice”

“H…”

“When he was three years old, I… I was tied to my job most days and he spent a lot of time at his godfather’s house; it’s Stetler by the way”, he added then chuckled when Speed as expected groaned at this piece of news.

“So that’s why he kept hanging around Eric”

“He backed off and tried to be a jackass when the people around us and more importantly Eric got more and more suspicious”

“What’s one more piece of news I really don’t wanna know”, Speed muttered now completely unhappy. “So what the hell actually happened?”

“I don’t know Tim”. He raised his hand when Speed went to protest. “All I know is someone kidnapped him from Ric’s house… They shot Ric in the back and left him for dead”

“And you never found out who they were?”

“No. I investigated and got nowhere. But when all the physical evidence mysteriously disappeared…”

“You figured it was someone on the inside”, Speed finished

“Hm, hm. Even back then I was close to the Delkos. My marriage may have ended”, he added with a bitter smile. “But Carmen and Pavel always treated me like family. So when I realised Eric’s life would always be in danger because of my job… well they uprooted their family and moved down here. Told Eric the whole story about Cuba”

“And his sisters?”, Speed asked wondering why they’d kept their mouths shut

“Marisa was a year old. You don’t seem surprised”

“I saw Luke’s birth certificate. He was the one who figured out Eric was adopted by the way”

“Isa knows who Eric is. But as far as I know she hasn’t told anyone. Not even Jack. Ariessa… well she was still a child…”

“So you guys lied to her and she bought it”

“We had no choice Speed”, Horatio protested. “I did the only thing I could think of to protect him”

“Trust me H. I get that part. Doesn’t mean I have to happy about it”, he said wearily. “He’s gonna hate you when he finds out and when he finds out I knew he’s gonna hate me”

“You’re assuming he will”, Horatio countered making the trace expert snort

“You’re just as naïve as your other son if you think Eric won’t figure this out. I mean c’mon H, he has a twin brother. A twin who happens to work in law enforcement. How long before their paths cross? Or just what do you think will happen when someone who’s seen Luke happens to come here and sees Eric?” Horatio looked tired and Speed’s mood softened the tiniest bit. “I… I’m sorry for dumping this on you like this Horatio but… he’s my husband… the man I love and… Is it so hard to imagine I don’t wanna hide something this big from him?”

“If he finds out he’ll…”

“Believe me I already got that speech from Luke”

“Has… um… Luke…?”

“Asked about the two of you?”, Speed snapped in response to the hesitant question from Marisol. “Yes and I told him what I knew”. She turned white and he stood up. He knew if he remained there for even a minute more he’d end up either saying or doing something that would come back to bite him. He handed Horatio a card. “I can’t promise you that he won’t…. that he’ll be pleasant but he did ask me to give this to you. Anyway I… I’ll see you at the lab H”

Horatio seemed to suddenly remember what Speed had told him about Eric and the lab. “Why don’t you get some sleep here”, he offered. “It’s been a quiet couple of days Tim. You can afford to go in by 8”, he added when Speed hesitated

“Ok”, Speed muttered at last. “Let me know when you’re leaving”

Horatio waited till his footsteps faded away. “I… I’ll move to my brother’s place. This house is yours for…”

“Horatio I…”, she tried to interrupt

“Please don’t Marisol. Nothing, absolutely nothing can explain this. I… I have a son… A son you stole from me”

“Your dedication to your job…”. She stopped at his glare. “It happens to be true Horatio”, she said softly right before she lifted her top to point to a small circular scar on her hip. “Do you even remember this?” Horatio turned away from the sight recalling the night so long ago when they’d been shot at. The night Pavel had saved their lives. “That was the first time I came to know exactly how dangerous it was to be a cop’s wife. That night which was supposed to be special and magical. It was our wedding night”. Her own voice was rising in anger. “And the next day I found out I was pregnant. Do you know I thought of killing my own child? I almost went to a clinic”. She saw his face turn red, could see the rage in his eyes. “What you want me to be happy with the life Eric… Will’s living now, calling someone else his parent. What difference would it have made if I had stayed? What difference do both their lives have? I mean they both call someone else mom and dad. You did the exact same thing I did”, she said her voice shaking. “So yes I took your child away from you. And you know what I don’t regret it”, she yelled stopping when she felt a catch in her throat. She was done crying in front of him. “Don’t bother moving out Horatio. I’ll move back to New York”

“You took my shift”. 

“I’m not smelling anything burning”, Speed retorted and Eric chuckled. 

“That’s cos it turns out I can read a cookbook. Tim… I…”

Speed stopped him with a finger to his lips. The kiss told Eric more than words could and he melted in his husband’s arms. “Last year after Alexx’s kidnapping”, Speed began his breath tickling Eric’s ears. “Your ma told me marriages take work”. He smiled as he recalled the incident. “She was… is right. Am I mad at you for all the lies? Yes I am”. He felt Eric swallow and tightened his hold. “But that’s mostly because I was scared for you babe. Marisol… she could’ve gotten you hurt and I…” - he paused before he forced himself to continue. “I’m not a saint Eric. I screw up too”. ‘Still am’, he thought knowing his own deception was bigger. “I’m never gonna walk away from you, and from this life we’ve built. I love you. I’ll say that a hundred times more if you want me to, if that’ll make you believe I’m not going anywhere. Cos I’m not. I may be stupid and I may run when we fight but that doesn’t mean I won’t come back. I meant my vows Eric. The only way I’m leaving you is in a body bag”

“Don’t say that”, Eric snapped his fears getting the better of him. “I… I didn’t wanna lie to you Tim, but she would’ve died”

Speed’s voice sounded tired. “She’s more resourceful then you give her credit for”

“I know. Dad told me she went back to living with uncle H and…”. He was interrupted by the doorbell. 

Speed sighed at the figure on his doorstep. “Seriously”, he muttered as he let her in

Eric’s eyes widened at the suitcase. “Marisol. What are you…?”

“I… I wanted to say goodbye. There… there’s this treatment centre in New York. Clara she found me a place there and… I’m gonna be living there till I… till I get better”. 

Despite the fact that she had almost ruined his marriage Eric still had trouble saying goodbye to her. He knew the rest of the world saw her as manipulative but he’d been there during some of her weakest moments… had seen her sob when the pain, both physical and emotional got too much… had heard her cry out for her son’s forgiveness. He remembered how she would mistaking him for William Caine tell him how sorry she was for having left him and knew she regretted a lot of what she had done.

“It’s… um, it’s for the best Eric”. Marisol filled the silence for him. “Being here with my family, I haven’t been this happy in a long time but… I can’t just… You’re both cops. It’s best if I stay away”

Eric hesitated a minute more before he nodded. This was for the best after all… for all of them. “Ok”, he managed to say in as cheerful a voice he could muster as he hugged her. “But please keep in touch”

“I will Eric, I promise”, she whispered as she clung to him mentally saying her goodbye, knowing she’d be lucky to see him again. “Thanks for everything”, she added as she stepped back and cupped his cheek. “Take care Eric”. She was gone without even a look or a nod at Speed

“Volleyball fans I take it”

Eric had to blush at his uncle’s question. “It’s Casper’s day off. I figured he could use the sun”. He really hoped this wouldn’t get back to Speed but he had a feeling he wouldn’t be that lucky

“Wall to wall thong”

“Say what?”, Speed muttered as he caught a conversation between Cooper and Natalia. ‘Damn Natalia’. With everything going on with Eric and Luke he’d forgotten about the mole completely. He barely heard Cooper’s “Oh this beach volleyball game we went to. Delko knew every chick there” as he stared at the DNA tech

It wasn’t hard to guess at the look on Speed’s face. “I’m gonna kill Cooper”, Eric muttered to himself as he spotted a gob smacked Speed walk out of the AV lab. Speed though had far bigger concerns than Eric’s flirting and went to P.D. looking for his boss. “Everything all right?”, he asked the redhead 

“Yeah…um… It’s Resden”

“The killer. I thought we already knew that?” 

“Jenifer. Resden… he… she met him on a dating site”

He understood. “We need this SOB caught. But… I have… news”

“What do you mean?” Horatio was all business as he caught the urgency in Speed’s tone.

“Let’s um… let’s go back to your office”, Speed offered making the redhead go past intrigued to completely worried

“Have I mentioned how much I hate cases involving child molesters”, Speed said as walked into the print lab where Eric was examining the flyers. “Wait is that…?”

“Shit”, Eric mumbled as he saw Alexx’s face appear on his terminal. “Tim… I…”

“I’ll tell H”. Speed’s voice was firm. Eric hesitated but nodded

He caught some of Ryan’s comments and was about to snap when Eric stopped him sending him to the ‘victim’s’ house’. Victim, Speed thought did not fit Phil Gordon. Not by a long shot. And now not only had that idiot ruined his own life he was making Alexx’s life hell as well

“You’re moving to nights?”

“The lab’s gossip machine really is active then”, Alexx snapped at Speed’s stunned question. Her biting tone caught his attention and he stepped in

“Tell me?”, he demanded and she sighed

“Timmy”

“Alexx. Tell me now”

“What the fuck were you thinking?”, Speed snapped entering Horatio’s office without even a knock. 

“Would you like to tell me…”, the redhead began with forced politeness but Speed was for once too angry to see straight. 

“You thought the M.E.’s office had a mole. You used Ryan”. Horatio wondered how in the hell Speed had known. The trace explained the conversation he’d had with the M.E

“I’ll speak to…”, Horatio began before shutting his mouth. They both knew him speaking to Halliwell was the last thing Alexx needed. “I needed to find the leak Speed”

“Yeah well now we know”, Speed retorted. “Stay away from her Horatio”, he ordered as he left the office

“So you’re still staying with us?”, Eric asked Alexx as the three of them headed out of P.D. “That’s good”, he commented cheekily as he pointed to his husband. “Cos we both know Speed here would’ve tortured whoever the next M.E. was till they ran”

“Yeah I would’ve”, Speed said completely serious. “Can’t work with anyone else besides you”, he added as he hugged her in a rare show of physical display.

Alexx smiled and felt her eyes water. She’d meant every word she’d said to her boss. This team – including Ryan and Horatio despite their little schemes was her family – and she’d be damned if she lost them for a few hundred bucks and a job title. “So where are we going for dinner?”, she asked them both ready for a change of subject

“Is it ok if we join you or are am I still…”, Ryan trailed off at the look on Speed’s face and backed up… He should’ve stopped when Eric grinned but found himself almost backing into Horatio who side-stepped him at the last minute. Calleigh, Eric and Alexx all burst out laughing at the polite “Mr. Wolfe”, from the redhead and even Speed despite his annoyance with the two of them looked amused.

“Shit… I mean… um… sorry sir… I mean…”

He scowled and threw his hands up in the air when Eric and Calleigh had to clutch their stomachs with how hard they were laughing. “Ah baby”, Alexx managed to gasp out. “Thank you so much for being you”

“Glad I could help Alexx”. The younger man’s tone may have been sarcastic but the look on his face told her he meant it


	13. Chapter 13

He found himself staring at the card for probably the hundredth time since Speed had given it to him almost a month ago. A month since he had found out he not just had Eric but another son. A son who may or may not hate him

‘He did ask me to give this to you’

When he had heard Speed say those words, hope had filled Horatio’s heart. His son had asked for him. Had told Speed he wouldn’t exactly mind being contacted. But after a few hours, hell days the doubts and second guesses had overwhelmed him. He had kept telling himself that he needed to take care of the lab. There were so many things that could and had gone wrong these last few weeks starting with Resden’s return to Alexx’s problems with her boss – which if he was honest with himself he was responsible for – and the recent reappearance of Peter Elliot and Leo and Sierra. 

‘Your dedication to your job…’. 

His ex-wife’s words rang in his ears and he realised with a sinking feeling that it was true. To be honest he’d always known that his workaholic tendencies were the reason his marriage had failed. Not Eric’s birth, not the Russian mob and not as everyone thought Marisol’s selfishness. No, he had simply as he had every time he’d been presented a personal problem chosen to bury himself in his work in the hopes that it would go away

As he had this time as well.

Speed to his eternal relief hadn’t pushed him to contact Luke, hell his trace expert hadn’t even asked him if he had even taken a look at the card. In fact he had avoided any and all references to his trip to D.C. but Horatio had a feeling that was more for Eric and his marriage than his own well-being. But still… there were these odd looks of pity he had been receiving from his CSI most days. Those looks that made his fingers twitch… 

A knock sounded on his office door and… Horatio ignored the pounding in his chest and silently put the card away as Eric told him about how he’d messed up with Erica Sykes

“Florida?” 

“Yeah. We should be leaving as soon as I present the case. I thought you’d like a heads up”

“Is it…?”

“No, the case is in Tampa”

Small favours thought Luke as he followed JJ to the bullpen

He’d never believed in fate. Coincidences yes, fate no. So when Horatio called right as he was packing his bags he wondered if this was providence’s way of kicking him in the ass for his lack of faith

He could feel his temples pounding. His whole body was shaking either in anticipation or nervousness, he couldn’t tell. He was feeling faint as he heard the phone ring

“Hello”. There… the voice… the voice he’d been longing to hear the minute he had found out about his son. The voice that was so similar yet so different from Eric’s

“Hello”, Luke repeated when there was no answer

“Luke… it’s… um… it’s Horatio Caine”

The voice was soft… softer than he had expected it to be. A deep baritone that he instinctively knew the victims his father dealt with would find comfort in

His father

Horatio Caine, his father was the one calling him… calling his name. 

This was the moment Luke had dreamt of since he was thirteen, had thought he’d never ever have. And now that he did, he had no idea of what to do with it

It was Horatio’s turn to repeat his son’s name when there was no answer. His turn to wonder if there would be one or if he was better off to have left the younger man alone

“Yes”, Luke managed to gasp out. “Yes I’m… Tim gave you the number”

Great job there Captain Obvious he thought his frustration plain. If Horatio noticed his fumbling he said nothing. Instead he seemed to be doing some fumbling of his own

“I… Yes… Speed… he… I was wondering…”

“I’m in Sarasota”. The words left his lips before he could change his mind. “I had a case here”. He found himself telling Horatio all about Mark Gregory and the reason for his travel.

“I can fly up there”, Horatio offered as he stopped his rambling

Luke managed another nervous “Ok”, before giving him the name of the hotel

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?”, JJ asked softly when he told her he wouldn’t be travelling back with the team

“Hm, hm. Yeah Jayje. I’m fine… I mean… I… I think I need to do this on my own”

“Ok”, she said after a round of worried silence. “But if you need anything…”

Luke knew the minute Horatio entered his hotel room that his choice of venue had been a mistake. And not just because of the receptionist’s very incorrect assumptions when she had called him to alert him of the redhead’s arrival. He was starting to realise that his cramped room offered them no means of escape from the very intense conversation they were about to have

Horatio meanwhile had simply frozen. Even though he had already seen the picture, even though he knew the man before him had Eric’s DNA, even though he had been told by Speed about the resemblance he still couldn’t get over the fact that Luke Alvez looked exactly like Eric Delko

Luke Alvez and Eric Delko… his children

‘You and I know better than most people that giving someone your DNA does not make you their father.’

He had meant his words when he had told Speed that but right now he was having an extremely hard time accepting them himself

Luke Alvez and Eric Delko weren’t Luke Alvez and Eric Delko. They were William Caine and… He was startled as he realised that he hadn’t named his other son. He hadn’t even had a chance to know he had had one more child

‘They both call someone else mom and dad’

‘You did the exact same thing I did’

Marisol was right. He had done the same thing she had. That she was no longer in Eric… Will’s life hadn’t mattered. She had taken one son away. He had done the same with the other one…

“Lt.”. He swore his heart broke at the hesitant use of his official title by the young man.

“Horatio”, he offered his voice shaking. “Horatio or H”

“Horatio”. Luke tested the slightly unfamiliar and old-fashioned name before accepting it. “Horatio”, he repeated. “Would you like to sit?”

Horatio though hardly seemed to hear him. For the first time in his life he was experiencing sensations he had never thought he would. His heart was pounding just as much as it had when he had made the call, his palms were sweaty and his vision was wavering. He took one step and found to his horror that his legs simply did not have the strength needed to support his weight. He was pitching forward when he found strong arms wrap around him. Eric’s… no Luke’s arms he reminded himself. He was in Luke’s… his son’s hotel room… His son who was looking at him with a mixture of panic and concern. 

He managed a half-nod as he felt Luke guide him to the couch

“He… he wanted me to stay in touch but I… I wasn’t sure see. Don’t look at me like that”, he added at his wide-eyed listener. “I couldn’t just let him in only to have him leave me. I know, I know I’m just being a wimp and you’re probably not very proud of me”. He laughed at the loud bark. “Ok fine so you are proud of me. But we don’t have to time to sit around and mope right now. One of my best friend’s is coming over”. Another bark. “Nope not Phil”. He swore Roxy gave him a disappointed look. “Her name’s JJ and… she’s early”, he mumbled as the door rang. 

“Lt. Caine”. The unfamiliar voice in his ears stopped Horatio on his way to the victim’s body.

“Yes?”, he answered cautiously as he saw that the phone number was a D.C. one

“My name’s Jenifer Jareau. I…”

“Luke”, he interrupted his eyes closed for just a second before he reminded himself he was in public

“This is about Luke, yes sir”. Her voice had turned soft and he felt his heart pound again. 

“Take over would you Speed”, he ordered the patiently waiting trace expert before he almost ran back to the Hummer

“What’s going on with you?”

The question from Eric had Horatio look up from his ever-present paperwork. “What do you mean son?”

“Tripp told me you abruptly left a crime scene this morning. And… you’ve been acting weird for a while”, Eric said as he sat down on the couch. “Is there something going on H?” He saw Horatio hesitate. “H?”, he repeated his worry spiking

“It’s… it’s about me and Marisol” That wasn’t a complete lie, he told himself.

‘Yeah right Horatio. That’s exactly how Eric’s gonna see this when he finally finds out who Luke is’

“Did you want something?”. 

“You only pull rank at work if you don’t want me to find out something”, Eric said slowly. “You’re hiding something else from me”, he realised in a pained whisper as he stood up

“Eric, no wait” Horatio tried to stop him but Eric mumbled something about a case and ran

“Marisol lied to me about something big Eric”, Horatio told him softly as they sat in his kitchen after lunch on his birthday. 

“What do you mean?”, Eric asked curious more than defensive

It was stupid and dangerous but if he didn’t give Eric something now then he would lose him. “I may have another child”, he admitted at last

“What?” Eric gasped out loud

‘Eric knows DNA Horatio’, Ric’s voice admonished him. “Yes. Billy he may have had a twin brother”

“A… a twin brother?”

“Hm, hm. Yes”. He found himself telling his son about Luke

“So he works for the Feds? Wow”. He couldn’t help but smile at Eric’s enthusiasm. “Did you talk to him?”

“Yes… but…”

“He didn’t want to…?” Eric didn’t finish the hesitant question but Horatio shook his head

“This is… this is something new for both of us Eric. We… he needs time”. His voice had gone softer without him even realizing it. 

“Do you want me to talk to him?”, Eric offered. “Tell him about you? About how lucky he’d have been to have you as a dad? What it’s true”, he protested when Horatio turned to him stunned. “You would’ve been a great dad. Heck dad says you helped him bring me up and that wasn’t easy”

Horatio ignored the banter. “Thank you”, he whispered hoping against hope that his son would always remember this but knowing instinctively that he wouldn’t

“These guys are seriously starting to piss me off”, Speed grumbled as they were pinned down at yet another shoot-out with members of the Mala Noche. 

“You think”, Ryan said sarcastically from next to him. “Finally”, he added as back-up arrived in the form of uniforms, Horatio and Tripp

“You guys ok?”, the Texan yelled as he spotted the state of their vehicle. 

“Who the fuck cleared this damn scene?”, Speed asked voice rising as the effects of adrenaline wore-off. “We were told it was a simple robbery”

“It was supposed to be a robbery Speed”, Horatio said just as Calleigh and Eric arrived

“But that doesn’t make sense H”, Ryan protested. “There were no uniforms when we got here and worse the fireworks started almost immediately”

“Fake 911 call”, Eric said. “Cooper’s running the trace on the number. We also have the tapes”

Speed swore. “So this was a set-up for me”

“No Speed. This was for me”. Horatio’s voice was cold. “This was a warning”

“There’s a Federal Agent here to see you Lt.”, Paula informed him when he got back to the lab the same time as a young black male approached him. 

“Lt. I’m Special Agent Phil Brooks. I believe we have a mutual… acquaintance”

“You’re the one that told Luke about Boa Vista”, Speed said as they sat in Horatio’s office

“Yes I am. But you may have a bigger problem. Special Agent Robert Wynn. He’s been sent by someone, don’t ask me who to investigate your lab”. Horatio raised an eyebrow as if to say get on with it and Phil continued. “He’s been looking into the activities of your ex-wife Lt”

“Marisol’s in New York”, Speed said when Horatio remained silent

Phil’s look was startled. “I don’t know where you got that information gentlemen but she’s not. I just saw her this morning. She was in one of our interrogation rooms”

“I came back because my cancer’s mostly gone. I wanted to tell Eric the good news”, Marisol responded calmly as they sat in her living room. “I didn’t tell you about the Fed because it wasn’t relevant. And I didn’t wanna get accused of playing you for sympathy again”. The last part was directed at Speed who snorted

“What did he ask you about?” Horatio’s voice was still cold as it had been ever since the shoot-out and Speed almost pitied the idiot who would end up on their radar today. When his boss was in this kind of a mood cases tended to get solved in minutes

“Marijuana, Eric, the lab. I told him to go to hell” 

“Special Agent Robert Wynn”

“Never heard the name. Why?”, Luke asked Horatio calmly even as Morgan, Elle and even Reid stared at his phone in surprise

“I think you should stay from him”, Horatio said and he felt his hackles rise sharply before he controlled his annoyance

“Can I ask what this is about?”

“He’s been investigating this lab”, Horatio said then told him of his conversation with Phil and Marisol

“So he’s seen Eric”, Luke realised. “Yeah ok I’ll stay away”

“Thank you Luke”

“Speed was right you know”, Luke said suddenly not too keen to end the call. 

“He usually is”, Horatio said with a chuckle

“What the fuck”, Speed muttered horrified as he saw the state his beloved Ducati was in. He called Eric. 

“Your fucking girlfriend needs to back-off or I’m going to kill her”. Eric stopped abruptly in the middle of the corridor as his husband’s voice yelled loud enough over the phone for the people ten feet around him to hear

“What do you…?”

“I mean I understand you make stupid decisions. Really I do”, he continued ranting speaking over Eric. “But this stupid bitch really takes the cake. Why the hell couldn’t you ever date anyone normal?”

“Um. Tim… Have you been drinking something besides water in the lab? Cos I’m married to…”

He received another round of swearing and yelling for his untimely joke but amidst all the nasty words gathered that Gloria had ended up tagging Speed’s bike. Again.

“I’ll call Mike”, he said quickly before the trace expert could set off on another rant. “He’ll have the Ducati ready in no time”

“He better or you’re sleeping on the couch again” Eric swore as Speed hung up then swore harder as he realised a very amused Natalia and Alexx were standing in front of him

“Anything you wanna share?”, the DNA expert asked him with a smirk even as Alexx added. “I didn’t know my baby knew words like that”

Eric glared at the two women before he found himself resignedly telling them about Gloria

“Wait she tagged Speed’s bike again. Ah c’mon Delko. I have to go on a call out with him”, Ryan yelled aggrieved then muttered “Oops”, when he saw the red haired pit-bull barrel towards them. The corridor emptied out in seconds leaving a very very in Ryan’s opinion stupidly brave Eric behind

“Did you need something Eric?”, his uncle asked and even Eric wondered just how idiotic he could get sometimes. The nerve twitching behind Horatio’s eye – as it had been since the latest Mala Noche shoot out – looked to have doubled in pace. 

“I was hoping you could help me on the Marsden case”, he blurted out and watched as the nerve finally disappeared. Horatio gave him a soft but amused smile and Eric knowing that at least for now his uncle was back to normal just wrapped an arm around his shoulder and dragged the redhead off to his office all the while jabbering to him about non-existent evidence

“Not fucking again”, Natalia muttered as she caught sight of the damaged window of her car. “I’m not even dating him bitch”, she yelled loudly enough for everyone around her to pause. Ignoring all of them she pulled out her phone to call the reason for her nightmare then swore as he didn’t answer

“Your girlfriend just broke my window”, she told him annoyed as she caught up to him at the lab

“Why the fuck would she break your window?”, Speed asked Natalia even as Eric looked at her with a what the fuck look on his face

“I told you she’s not my girlfriend”, Eric jumped in quickly before Natalia could respond. “I will take care of it”, he added emphasizing each word. He ignored her you better before he turned to Speed who caught his annoyed expression, smiled and bumped foreheads with him. “I dropped her off three nights ago”, Eric told him before Speed could ask. “She was sort of…”

“I remember babe”, the trace expert cut him off as he stroked Eric’s thumb. “It’s fine”, he added trying not laugh as he recalled Eric all but running home after a night-out to tell him he had dropped Natalia off because she had been really drunk and how she had ended up… His train of thought stopped and his face darkened. “Gloria’s still following you”

“What the hell”, Marisa cursed as she saw the broken window then cursed again when she heard the horn from the street. 

“Anything you want to tell me sweetheart?”, her father asked even as he inspected her damaged window

“What are you doing here papi?”, she asked but Pavel not willing to be distracted simply gave his daughter a look. “I don’t know who this is. But I have a very sneaking suspicion”, she added as she called her ex, wondering if this was from his job. Cursing again when he didn’t answer she called her uncle next. “Ok, uncle Horatio’s not answering either”

“You think this is because of Ryan Wolfe and his job?”

“Who else could it be. If not him it has to be uncle Horatio or Eric. It’s not as if I’ve had a social life recently. What?” Her dad was looking at her wonderingly making her feel defensive. “My new job keeps me really busy”

“Yes of course”, Pavel said solicitously making her roll her eyes. It was clear he hadn’t believed a word of what she had just said. Her day was really made when she heard a very familiar voice yell, “Stop the damn thing”. She saw Eric run over and add a “What the fuck”, as he saw the broken window. “Ouch papi c’mon”, he mumbled as he was whacked on the back of the head

“Eric this looks…”

“I know Wolfe”, Eric said as he called Mike and gave him the location offering to even pay for the damn window. 

“You’re keeping him busy recently”, Wolfe mumbled not knowing what else to say to fill the awkward silence. He ended up saying the wrong thing as usual

“Are you telling me this has happened before Ryan?”, Pavel asked the only man he’d been happy his daughter had dated

Ryan fumbled as he realised he’d put Eric in a spot. “I mean I…”

“Yes it has”, Eric said cutting him off. “Look papi me and Ryan we’re on a way to a scene now but I promise you I’ll tell you all about it later”. He was about to walk away when his sister stopped him. “Mari I just told you…”

“My bag’s gone. It had my wallet, my ID… all of my crap. So if you know who this is…”

“I’ll get it back for you”, he promised

“I heard you’re having girl trouble”

Not you too Calleigh, Eric thought 

“Everyone hears everything in this place?” He reminded her of Gloria and his bad choices during his only break-up with Speed

“My advice, talk to her once as Eric Delko”

“And then?”

“Talk to her again as a cop”

“Never understood Gloria you have all of this and you still wanna harass me”

“Money can’t buy you love”. On that he agreed with her but then she spouted off the theory that Marisa was his wife making him wonder if she really was crazy.

“That was my sister. We were at a friend’s wedding”. 

“Look I’ve seen you and her together, you’re wearing a ring, and her last name’s Delko. I can do the math”

Eric really resisted the urge to laugh. “You’ve seen Speed wear the same damn ring and you’ve been harassing him too. You know what you can do the time too. I’ll let the state attorney know to give you the max”

She relented and offered to give him the purse and the money for the window. “You wanna come in?”. 

He wondered if there was stupid slashed across his forehead and just gave her a look

“Should I worry about…”

“No this won’t affect the lab”, Eric shut a grinning Horatio up quickly. That the man had to choose now to get over his Mala Noche obsession he thought peevishly glaring at him. “C’mon uncle H”, he whined. “I dated her four years ago for a weekend. How the hell was I supposed to know she’d come back to bite me in the ass”

“How the heck did she find you anyway?”, Calleigh asked making him wish she’d kept her mouth shut. He mumbled something about a damn bar. Ryan who was the only one clueless was also the only one who hadn’t laughed. 

“What bar?”

“The bar he gets into trouble at every time he goes to”, Speed groused. “I thought you said you were never going back there”

“C’mon, it’s Cole’s bar. He was in town and anyway I thought we weren’t gonna talk about lab stuff here”, he tried to move on quickly

“Didn’t you just say this had nothing to do with the lab Delko”, Ryan pointed out making them all laugh again

Eric swore he would murder them all in their sleep

“Remind me again why we’re doing this for the fourth time this month?”, Speed asked as he stared resignedly at the mess the five kids had made

“Because I’ve got a stupid bleeding heart?” ‘Wrong answer’, Eric thought at the glare. “Because you love kids”. That earned him an even worse one. “Because it’ll be good practice for us”

“You… I… You mean…”

Eric smiled at the nervousness. “Is it so hard to imagine that I might just wanna raise a family with you someday”

“I thought we already had one here”

“We do”, Eric admitted, “But…” - he was the one nervous now. “I… I always imagined having a houseful of kids an…”. He was cut off with a gentle kiss

“So long as I’m not the one who has to push them out”, Speed retorted making him laugh


	14. Chapter 14

“Luke… it’s Phil”. The hesitant voice caused Luke to stop abruptly in his tracks

“Eric?”, he asked wondering if he’d even hear the answer over the pounding of his heart.

“Eric’s alive”. The phraseology scared him. “But…”

“Hora… Horatio and…”

“It’s Marisol, Luke. She was murdered this morning”

“Mari slow down would you. I need to meet you where?”, Eric asked frustrated. “Fine. Gimme ten minutes. And Mari, you owe me big time”

“Mari, c’mon I don’t have all day”, Eric whined as he walked into the house. He never saw the attacker hiding behind the door, barely felt the syringe to his neck but he did hear the panicked voice calling his name

“You bitch”, he heard a voice scream then a gunshot before everything went black

“Marisol I thought…”

“Horatio, Eric’s in danger”

Horatio ran to his Hummer yelling for Speed to join him

He heard Speed give out the address over the phone… Call… almost beg for backup and an ambulance to be sent to them… 

“Eric, Marisol”, Horatio yelled as he parked the Hummer and ran out

He found her first. His gasp was involuntary. 

“H, we need to clear the house”. Speed’s urgent voice in his ear was the only thing stopping him from rushing to her side but when backup finally arrived in the form of Calleigh and Wolfe he gave in to his desire to check on her

“Marisol. Sweetheart wake up”, he ordered gently as he tapped her cheek with his right hand while his left hand attempted to stop the flow of blood from the hole in her abdomen. The flow of blood though meant that she was still alive, still had a chance as long as he could dam it, so he continued all the while praying for her to wake up. He didn’t know if it was minutes or seconds or even years but her brown eyes finally looked up at him

“Hey”, she whispered as her left hand reached for his. He obliged his own moving from her cheek

“Stay with me”. It was both a command and a plea

“Never… listened… before”

He ignored her attempt at humour. “This time you will. I need you to stay with me”

“No… you don’t… you have… a good life… family”

“That’s not true Marisol. There will never be a time when I don’t need you. When your children don’t need you”. Marisol suddenly remembered Eric and her face turned even whiter. “Eric’s fine sweetheart”, he reassured her automatically hoping it was true. “Eric’s fine. I need you to…”

“Tell him… someday… sorry… tell them…”

“You have nothing… absolutely nothing to be sorry for. This was… is… all on me… So please… please give me a chance to make this up to you”

She smiled that smile he had fallen for when he’d been barely fifteen years old, not even knowing it was love he had felt that day so long ago. “Always… loved you…”, she managed to say before her eyes closed

“Sir we need you to move”.

“I can’t get him to wake up”, Speed informed the medics voice slurred. “He won’t open his eyes”. Calleigh dropped to his side before the medics could forcibly remove him. 

“Tim”. She placed a hand on his arm. “Tim listen to me”. She turned him around by the chin to face her. “The paramedics are here to help Eric. They’ll get him to wake up. You need to let them work”

“C’mon Speed”. Another hand was on his shoulder gently but firmly helping him up. “It’s fine Speed”, Tripp added as he still held onto him. He had a feeling if he let go the man in front of him would collapse

“Eric”, Speed asked as he felt a blanket drape around him… Felt some of the cold leave him… He heard someone say something about shock… Felt someone guide him over to a couch… Help him sit down

“Tim”, Megan whispered as she hugged her protégé 

“I understood a while ago”, Speed said his voice plaintive. “I understood a while ago. I don’t want this to happen. Please stop it”

Megan the only one around him who realised what his cryptic words meant could only hold on to him tighter as she prayed he wouldn’t suffer the same fate she had

“That’s my damn house. Why can’t I…”

“Madre Dios”, Carmen gasped ignoring Pavel’s rant and all but ran towards the gurney that held her son yelling out his name

“Ma’am we need to get him to the hospital”, the paramedic instructed her making her stop

“Don’t worry Mrs. Delko. I’m going with him. He’ll be fine”, Ryan added as he climbed in with her son leaving her behind

“You need to let her go Horatio”. Alexx’s soft voice had Horatio finally realizing where he was. “She needs to come with me”, the M.E. said as tears flowed down her cheeks. Horatio heard her but did not release his hold. 

“Horatio” - Ric was by his side. “C’mon Horatio. You need to get up. Pavel and Carmen, they both need you. Speed and Eric need you”

Horatio finally looked up at the African American. “I… I need to stay with her…”

“I know you want to”. He bristled at the change in verb, wanted to tell her he was what she needed. “But you know I’ll take good care for her. Give her to me Horatio”, she pleaded not wanting to force Horatio to relinquish her. 

“You need to find out who did this to her”, Pavel’s voice thundered from above him. “Who did this to both of them”

That one sentence made Horatio’s pale face go white as he wondered if…

“Eric’s in the hospital”. Frank was by his side as well. “Wolfe’s gone with him”. His businesslike tone finally made the redhead snap back to being himself. Giving his wife one last look, and after one last caress to her cheek he stood up his eyes on the three men in front of him. The three men who had become his family over a lifetime of fighting evil side by side. The three men who even after his breakdown just now still looked to him for guidance.

“Where’s Speed?”, was his first question. If his son was in the hospital, then Speed would be a mess and while Horatio was useless to Eric and Marisol, the least he could do was make sure his CSI was safe

“Inside”, Frank said. “Megan’s got him”

He would go to Speed in a minute. “Do you know what Eric was doing here?”, he asked Pavel who shook his head. 

“He was supposed to be at work from what I know. They”. There was a catch to his voice. “Eric and Speed were going to be here only for dinner”

Horatio filed away that information. He turned to Frank next. “Has anyone found Eric’s phone?”

“No. Calleigh’s the only one processing”

“I’ll give her a hand”, Ric offered

Horatio seemed to realise this was Pavel’s home they were invading and not a stranger’s. “See if we can just stick to the actual scene…”

“No”, the Russian interrupted him. “I do not care what you have to do, how much of our lives you have to mess up but you will find the monster that did this to my boy and my wife’s sister. Do you understand me gentlemen?”

Ric’s eyes were cold, his voice had that deadly softness that usually had people scrambling for cover. “You have my word, my old friend. That I will find this bastard and when I do, nothing in this world will stop me from killing him with my bare hands”

“Megan”

Horatio’s voice had Megan pull away from Speed. Whispering something to him the redhead couldn’t catch she walked over to her former subordinate and one time boss. “I am truly sorry for your loss Horatio”, she offered as she gently squeezed his arm

Horatio almost faltered before he covered it up with a nod. “Ric… Ric’s offered to take the lead on…”. He did not want to call this a crime scene

Megan didn’t wait for him to complete his hesitant sentence. “I’ll stay in the shadows and make sure he doesn’t do something stupid”. She may not know the dynamics of the relationship between Horatio and her current sergeant but she would do what she could to keep them all sane

“Thank you”, he managed much more sincerely this time

“Tim”

“I couldn’t get him to wake up”, Speed whispered as he felt Horatio sit beside him.

“Eric’s… Eric’s stronger than we give him credit for Tim”, Horatio said at last his own voice a mess. “He’ll… he’ll be fine”

“Yes he will”, Frank added as Calleigh joined them.

“You two up for some questions?”

“Questions like who the hell would’ve done this?”, Speed shot back sarcastically regaining some of his composure. “Eric’s a cop”

“Exactly”, Calleigh retorted. “He’s a cop. And this scene is… pristine. Apart from the one casing killer left us nothing behind”

Speed flinched at the word killer. That could mean only one thing. “Marisol?”, he asked his boss who shook his head not trusting himself to speak. “I… I’m sorry Horatio”. His empty sentiments meant nothing and he knew it but it was also all he had

Horatio directed his attention back to the case. “Did you know why he was here?”

“No. I got an early call out. As far as I know he was supposed to be at the lab at 8 as usual”

“Could he have…”. Speed stopped Calleigh’s tentative question

“No Cal. After… after the whole mess with Marisol… Eric… he calls me if he’s even gonna be a minute late”

Calleigh knew Speed could be wrong but if she did take him at his word for now then that meant…. Frank verbalized her thoughts. “Which means whatever it was, was last minute and our killer lured him here”

“Did we find Eric’s phone?”. There was an urgency to Horatio’s voice now. If someone had lured Eric here it meant this was planned. 

“What the hell are you thinking?” Frank asked at the look on his face

Horatio did not want to express his opinion where there were other ears. “Calleigh, get Mr. Cooper to ping Eric’s phone to find out where it is. I wanna know who called him last. The bullet?”

“It’s from a 45. A through and through. Ric recovered it. I’ll run it when I get back to the lab”

“Find me a name”, he ordered her. He turned to Speed and Frank next. “Why don’t we take this conversation to my office gentlemen”

“Why does it matter if the attack happened at the Delko house?”, Tripp asked Horatio his frustration plain at the redhead’s cryptic statement

Speed was the one to clarify it for him. “That’s his childhood home Frank. Eric he… he’s never a cop in there”

The detective understood. “Which means he would’ve let his guard down there. Which means it could’ve been anyone”

“Actually no. Believe me when I say Pavel Delko has better security than you and I can ever afford. There’s no way a stranger just walked into that house. Not without half the street noticing”

Tripp cursed as he realised the implications. “Which means this could be someone from the Cuban community, hell Eric’s own family”

“Which is why it’s important we find this person first gentlemen”, Horatio said. “Before Pavel Delko does”. 

Cooper called with the first crack in the case but the news was hardly good. Speed’s face was grimmer than it had ever been when he hung up. “Dan contacted the service provider and found out who called Eric”

“That’s good news isn’t it?”, Tripp asked as he caught his apprehensive tone

“Not when you were spot on it isn’t Frank. The person who lured him there was Marisa Delko”


	15. Chapter 15

“Are you sure this is where Marisa works?”, Ric asked Horatio skeptically

“Yes Ric. It is”, Horatio responded tightly his patience at an all time low.

“Horatio this is a dance studio”

“Way to state the obvious”, Frank answered in lieu of the redhead, voice sarcastic. Ric ignored him in favour of glaring at his old friend which was just fine as far as the detective was concerned. He still couldn’t understand why the hell they were here with Stetler of all people for a partner. 

“Uncle Ric, uncle Horatio”. Marisa was startled to see her uncles here along with a man she remembered seeing around their work. All three of them had no nonsense look had on their face scaring her. “What is it? Is it Eric or…?”

“Is there somewhere we can talk Marisa?”, Ric asked her. She managed a hesitant nod and led them over to a conference room

“Luke”. Speed’s voice was soft as he met a ragged looking Luke Alvez at the airport

“Eric is he… How…?”

“He…” Speed felt his throat clog and his fear return and knew he couldn’t afford to lose it. “He slipped into a coma. The GHB in his system…”

Luke’s eyes closed for a second and Speed saw him try to stop the tears, try to control his emotions and couldn’t help but think that Eric would’ve been much more open. Even if he didn’t want to his face usually gave him away. This young man on the other hand seemed so much more in control, because when he opened his eyes Speed couldn’t read him at all.

“I’d like to see him”, Luke requested tone formal and Speed nodded resignedly

“What the hell’s going on uncle Horatio. Why are you here with a detective?”, Marisa asked as she pointed to Tripp

“Frank Tipp, Marisa Delko”. Ric was the one who performed the introductions

“Ma’am, I’m really sorry but I need to ask you a few questions”

“Not until you tell me what the hell’s going on and why all of you are here”, Marisa retorted upset as she turned towards her uncles

“Marisa please child”, Ric said. “Please just…”

“Just tell me what happened?”

“Marisol was murdered this morning”, Horatio said tone flat and Marisa’s eyes widened. She didn’t even hesitate to rush over to her uncle and hug him. Horatio allowed her to comfort him for a second before he pulled back. “Can you help us?”

“Of course. Whatever you need”

“Did you call Eric this morning ma’am?”, Frank asked and she wondered what her brother had to do with this mess. 

“Uh, no. I haven’t spoken to Eric in two days. We got into a fight and I was waiting for him to apologise”. She didn’t bother telling them what the fight had been about and Tripp ignored it as well

“Can you explain why his phone shows you called him at 7 thirty this morning then?”, he asked her instead

“What the hell are you talking about?”, was her confused response. “I haven’t spok…”, she trailed off

“Where’s your phone Mari?”, Ric asked coming to the same conclusion

“I haven’t seen in it in days”, she admitted trying to recall when she’d last used the damn thing. Tripp was the only one who looked flabbergasted. The other two just shot her resigned looks. “I don’t believe in cell phones detective. I have a landline and I only carry my cell if someone in the family notices and rags me about it”

“So anyone could’ve used your phone?” This was a dead end

“Why the hell do you guys care if I called Eric or not? Tell me please”, she whispered fearing the worst. Oh God if she lost Eric… The last thing she had told him was to go to hell…

“Eric’s in the hospital Marisa”, Ric said and she collapsed onto a chair. 

“How… how bad”. She was crying now

“He… he’s in a coma”, Horatio answered his own voice choked. 

“Pavel”, Speed hailed his father-in-law in the waiting area and beckoned him over.

Pavel walked into another smaller room to see… “You must be Luke”

“Yes sir I am”, Luke said not knowing how to behave in front of the man who was essentially his twin’s parent.

“Luke wants to see Eric”, Speed explained interrupting the tense silence. “Can you…?”, he requested and Pavel hesitated. “Look Pavel, Eric’s unconscious and frankly no one else at this point’s…”

“Why haven’t you been to his room then?” Pavel’s challenge interrupted his rambling and Speed turned away. 

“I have an investigation to…”

“Ric’s taking care of it”. The Russian’s tone was dismissive at best. 

Speed reined in his temper with difficulty. This conversation was not going the way he wanted it to. But there was no way he was going inside that room right now to see his husband hooked up to all those machines. It would remind him too much of Drew after the accident and he didn’t think he would be able to handle it

“Tim”. His father-in-law tried to step closer cautiously but Speed caught the movement.

“Can you help Luke or not?”

“Timothy I…”

“Dammit Pavel”

“I’ll sneak into Eric’s room as long as you draw your CSI away”, Luke offered choosing to ignore Eric’s dad for the moment. 

Speed managed a nod and left

“What the hell?” Tripp exclaimed wondering why the lab was dominated by suits. Megan caught up to Horatio, Ric and the detective at the front desk

“Federal Agents. Remember that money Calleigh found on Star Island last week? Some of it’s apparently missing. And before you ask no, I don’t believe anyone in this lab would’ve touched it”

“Which is why we did not involve your internal affairs Lt. Special Agent Glen Cole”, he introduced himself. “Lt. Caine I’d like to…”. Horatio ignored him as Ryan and Speed walked in looking just as weirded out as Tripp had been

“What the fuck’s this?”, Speed muttered ignoring the Fed in front of him as well. 

“Do you have the evidence from the hospital?”

“Yes Lt.”, Ryan answered Horatio following Speed’s lead. “I have bloodwork and trace”

“Good take Ric’s help and follow up please”, he ordered

“I’ll follow up on the phone”, Tripp offered leaving as well. By this time Agent Cole was fuming and Megan was sure if the situation wasn’t so dire they’d all be laughing about it. Horatio finally turned to the Federal Agent

“You’re aware one of my CSI’s is in the hospital”

“I am”. Agent Cole tried to sound sympathetic but none of them were impressed especially when he informed them that 12000 dollars was missing

“According to your source”, Speed said wondering what Natalia was playing at. No one at the lab would’ve even touched a single dollar, and especially not one of the day-shift CSIs. He exchanged a glance with a grim Horatio who nodded.

The first time Emily Prentiss had told him there was someone out there who looked like him, he had scoffed in disbelief. Sure he’d been adopted but a twin. That had sounded something straight out of a Hollywood script and for an undercover agent whose life depended on being grounded in reality, ignorance had been his best bet at survival. 

The first time he saw the picture he’d done his best to deny the resemblance, particularly to himself. Had tried hard to ensure his own survival wouldn’t be compromised by the already overwhelming love he seemed to feel for nothing more than an image. Had succeeded in controlling his emotions to the point where that love was buried under practicalities. He had told himself that unless he survived the murder of Shannon Walsh he wouldn’t even get to know the man in the photograph. What use would his testimony have been if he had had to leave his twin anyway by going into witness protection?

The first time his nana had told him about Eric he’d been angry with her. He had believed all the lies had ended at thirteen. But when he discovered the reason his mother had given him up he had felt happy; happy that his twin was safe and that he had at least had the privilege of growing up with his birth parent. 

That happiness had of course shattered when Phil had procured Eric’s background and he had realized his twin had been adopted too. Then he had met Horatio and Speed and even if he could never let his twin know he existed he had felt like he had been a part of Eric’s life. But he had for the life of himself never expected to have the moment he did now, never expected he would ever get to see the face he had longed for, for the last couple of years. 

Only for Eric to be at death’s door…

“He will be fine Luke”, Pavel said gently squeezing his shoulder and propelling him inside the hospital room. “Your brother is the son of the strongest person I know. He, you are both, Horatio’s children and you will always be fine”. To Luke it seemed the Russian was reassuring himself

“I’ve run the trace five times and I have nothing”, Ryan told Calleigh softly ignoring the two Federal ‘escorts’ behind him. “Please tell me you had better luck with the bullets”, he almost begged her. Someone had put his friend in a coma and had shot his aunt and here Ryan was completely useless.

“I found what I needed. Sgt. Stetler and Detective Tripp have the results”, she answered just as Speed walked in barely sparing a glance in the direction of the two Agents. 

“How’s it going?”, he asked making Calleigh wonder what the hell he was still doing here. Speed caught her look and shook his head. He really wasn’t ready to talk about it

“We had a stria match on a previous case and I passed the info to Tripp”, she said at last her green eyes boring into him making him turn away. Her tone turned softer. “Ric and Frank are on it”

Speed’s phone interrupted them and he answered thankfully. “Yes Dan… yes… I’ll be right there”. There was a hint of a smile on his face. “Dan found something”

“So he recorded all his calls?”, Megan asked Speed and Horatio flabbergasted

“Ugh, no. Marisa and Eric. They’ve been fighting recently and Eric mentioned something about wanting proof. Don’t ask”, he added quickly. “Times like these make me really glad I’m not close to my brother”

“You have a brother?”, Cooper asked and he cursed himself for forgetting where he was. Luckily Horatio came to his rescue.

“What do you have Mr. Cooper?”

Cooper gulped at his boss’ tone before he pointed to the audio file he had pulled up. “That’s his last call guys. Barely lasted thirty seconds”

“Can you play it?” Cooper brought the file up in response to Horatio’s request and they all heard Marisa’s voice clearly. “Get out please”, Horatio ordered the A.V. tech who took one look at the redhead’s face and scrambled

“Why would she lie to you? Why the hell is she even involved in…”

“She didn’t”, Horatio interrupted Speed. His face was glacial and Megan was glad she wasn’t in his line of fire

“Horatio. I’ve known her for years. I recognize her voice”. 

“Horatio, Eric identified her”, Megan pointed out reasonably.

“Yes but Eric did not have the luxury of thinking about anything. He was rushing to help his sister”

“So you agree that’s Marisa’s voice”, Speed shot back. Ignoring his former boss and his trace expert Horatio called Tripp

“Frank. We have a suspect”

“Why the hell did you do it?”, Ric asked Eric’s sister as she sat in the interrogation room. “I mean, I know no one in the family was happy with him at one point of time. All of you treated him like crap and shunned him but to go the extent of putting him in a coma…”

“I… I didn’t do that Ric”, the woman stammered. “I would never hurt…”

“Cut the crap”, Ric thundered slamming his hands on the table making her jump. “We have your damn voice on tape. You pretended to be Marisa. You invited Eric to come home and then you loaded him full of GHB. You shot Marisol”

“What? Aunt Marisol’s dead”. She sounded horrified at the news. 

“You’re saying you didn’t know about this?”, Tripp asked tone telling her she was bullshitting

“No… I swear… I… I loved my aunt. She… In fact if it wasn’t for Horatio and Eric she’d still be with us and I…”

“So you hated Eric and Horatio for taking her away. That’s motive to hurt your brother. So, what your aunt caught you and you had to kill her, is that it?”

“Detective no”, she protested. “I didn’t… I don’t even know how to use a gun. I’d never…”

“That’s another lie”, Tripp said placing two photos on the table

“What are… those?”

“These are called stria matches Ari”, Horatio who had remained silent till now said. “The bullet on the left came from a shooting in a church in Calle Oche eight years ago. An innocent bystander shot a gang banger and rescued a priest. Story sound familiar to you?” Ariessa suddenly found the table in front of her very interesting. “It should because that innocent bystander was you. You shot Pablo Ruiz. I remember you almost went into witness protection before your community rallied around you and made sure his gang was driven out. I remember because Megan, Ric and I worked hard to ensure no one outside of the family that day would remember who you were. Unless of course you lied to all of us back then too”

“What do you mean?”, she asked voice faint

“Santi, he has a record doesn’t he?”, Ric said. “For assault with a deadly weapon as a teenager”

“That record means he can’t fire a weapon let alone touch one. Which means it would’ve been very hard for him to explain why he had a gun with him even if he had been a hero. So the best thing would’ve been to convince the priest to tell everyone his wife had been the one to rescue him. There were barely ten people in that church that day. No one else would’ve cared. Hell no one else even came forward”, Tripp said and Ariessa looked white now

“I wanna lawyer”, she whispered not meeting either Ric or Horatio’s eyes

Horatio glared at her for a second. “So be it”, he said at last as he walked out


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of sexual assault. Do not read if it's a trigger

“What the hell were you thinking?”

“Excuse me?”, Natalia asked glaring at the intruder in the DNA lab

“You heard me Boa Vista”, Speed shot back face tight. With everything going on with Eric he did not need the lab invaded as well. “Why the hell would you tell the Feds one of us stole money when you have no evidence”

The colour drained from the former agent’s face. “Speed I don’t know what you…”, she began before stopping at his derisive laughter

“I know you’re the damn mole. I’ve known for a while now. And so does H”, he added and Natalia knew her little game was over

“It’s not a job that I wanted…”

He wasn’t interested in her excuses. “Save it”. He only cared about one thing. “How the hell did you know the money was missing? Or were you the one who took it in the first place?”

“I swear I’ve only told them good things about this lab. I never told them anything about any money. I didn’t even know it was missing”

He was taken aback when he realised she wasn’t lying. So if she hadn’t then who had…

Dan Cooper was not having a good day. And this despite the fact that he had found two key pieces of evidence. Not only had he practically run away from the AV lab at a single look from Horatio he found himself slammed against the wall by a very pissed off and irate Ryan

“You told the Feds”, Ryan yelled loud enough for everyone to hear as he slammed him back into the wall repeatedly before Speed pulled him off. “He’s a snitch”. Cooper wanted to protest he wasn’t but then he remembered Delko telling him he had a big mouth

“What the hell were you thinking”, Speed yelled getting into Ryan’s face annoying the younger CSI even further. 

“He was the only one…”

“I thought I told both you and Horatio to drop this act about your eye”

“This was before that. I promise”. His voice had gone soft. “I… I didn’t mean to sir but I… I guess I snapped” Speed sighed at the look on his face.

“It’s fine. Look… none of us took the money which means they don’t have any evidence but speculation”. Ryan didn’t understand what Speed was getting at. “You were the last person to handle the evidence Wolfe”. He was wide-eyed but Speed shook his head. “The none of us includes you”

“But if the Feds think…”

“Exactly”. Speed was smiling now

“Calleigh”

“Hey I heard about the fight. Is everything ok”

Stress usually made Speed less than polite. “Your ex is hanging around why?”

Her eyes turned cold. “For your information Peter Elliot and I never…”

“For heavens sake”, he muttered. “Look like I just told Wolfe none of us took the money. Ryan asked to examine the evidence against him and found cornstarch powder”

Calleigh looked interested now. “From latex gloves. But we don’t use it”

“Exactly but Feds do”

Her face turned cold again. “Peter Elliot would not have stolen that money. He has no reason to set us up”

“Yeah but his fiancée does”

“Darren Vogel”. Megan looked shocked. “Can she afford him?”

“Even Pavel didn’t know she could”, Ric answered as he sat down on Horatio’s couch. “On the plus side the Feds are finally gone”

“Yeah I heard Ryan and Calleigh found the evidence”

“Actually it was your protégé”, Ric informed a startled Megan his face amused. “He stayed in the shadows and told them what to do. Makes me proud”, he added and she rolled her eyes

Megan turned her attention back to their case. “We can’t arrest him”

“The hell we can’t”, Horatio said voice still cold. “He killed my wife”

“Horatio, I get it. Don’t. You know I do”. Horatio turned away at the reminder about Sean. “But we have nothing on Pablo Santiago. Ariessa hasn’t said anything on the phone call which means Darren Vogel will point the finger at Marisa. And the gun is in Ariessa’s name, not Santiago’s. Plus we don’t have motive”

“We have motive”, Ric countered. “I spoke to Pavel. Remember the dinner Eric and Speed were supposed to be at? Eric made a breakthrough with the shrink”. Horatio looked startled for a minute before… Ric stepped in front of him. “You cannot kill him”, he emphasized each word.

“Ric, this… man… not only raped my son. But did the same thing to Justin. Manny got killed because of him. Jack went to jail…”

“What do you mean your son?”, Megan asked him in a shaky voice and Horatio realizing what he had just said in anger closed his eyes. She was a CSI after all and it didn’t take her long to connect the dots. “Eric”, she realised. “Eric’s your son”

“He’s not getting away with it”

“I just had this conversation with Horatio. You cannot kill him”, Ric repeated and watched idly as Speed paced his office. “Hell if you want him dead let me and Pavel do it. We can hide bodies better than a scientist”

Speed’s mind had already moved on to the problem and he barely heard Stetler. “What if he confessed?”

“He has Darren Vogel as his attorney and you actually think we can bring him in here and…”

“That’s not what I’m thinking at all”, Speed interrupted his rant. “I have a plan”

“Tyler thanks for coming back man”, Speed greeted the former AV tech and walked him to his office ignoring the curious stares of everyone around him

“Breaking into the home of a police officer is a very dumb thing to do”, Calleigh said softly her hand going for the weapon at her side

“Is it technically B&E if I knew where the spare key was?”

She couldn’t help the gasp. “Eric… how… you were supposed to be…”

“Oh Eric still is”. Luke’s voice turned back to the gravelly tone instead of his brother’s slightly deeper one. 

“Ok someone explain to me what the fuck is going on?”, Megan snapped as he saw the Eric look-alike in Calleigh’s living room

“Well you pass the test”, Speed muttered. Getting himself a bottle of water from the blond’s refrigerator he drank it nonchalantly annoying every single one of them even further. “Although we should’ve done this in Horatio’s house. Your place is too small princess”

Ric smirked. “Did I mention lately how proud I am of your devious ways? To answer your question Megan. Luke here is going to get a confession from Pablo Santiago”


End file.
